# Halloween events for kids?



## patricia grace (Oct 30, 2011)

Greetings all,

My family joins me in Mexico City Monday. My kids have packed costumes and I would love to be able to take them somewhere Monday night. Are there any Halloween events for expat kids?

thanks.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Welcome. Halloween is an event celebrated in the USA. In Mexico, there is the November 1&2 Day of the Dead celebration with parties and remembrances in the cemeteries (panteones) on the first night and altars in many streets, and sometimes whole streets dedicated to altars, food, music and other stuff; all dedicated to the dead family members, Mexican heroes, artists, politicians, stars, etc., on the second night. In some towns, like ours, there will be an indigenous pageant in the evening, dealing with history and death.
Mass marketing and the Chinese are introducing costumes and masks, pumpkins, etc. into the larger stores, but their only use, in our area, is to dress up the kids and truck them to the various expat housing areas, where they'll find candy. We live on a normal Mexican street, in a normal town and have never had any ring our bell.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> Welcome. Halloween is an event celebrated in the USA. In Mexico, there is the November 1&2 Day of the Dead celebration with parties and remembrances in the cemeteries (panteones) on the first night and altars in many streets, and sometimes whole streets dedicated to altars, food, music and other stuff; all dedicated to the dead family members, Mexican heroes, artists, politicians, stars, etc., on the second night. In some towns, like ours, there will be an indigenous pageant in the evening, dealing with history and death.
> Mass marketing and the Chinese are introducing costumes and masks, pumpkins, etc. into the larger stores, but their only use, in our area, is to dress up the kids and truck them to the various expat housing areas, where they'll find candy. We live on a normal Mexican street, in a normal town and have never had any ring our bell.


In Mexico City, I know people who've been invited to Mexican Halloween parties where everyone comes in costumes, like they do in the US. As far as children are concerned, some parents dress them up in costumes and take them around to neighborhood merchants to collect candy. Also, you will see children from poorer neighborhoods come to my middle-class barrio wearing a minimal costume, holding a plastic pumpkin, and asking you for money for their "Halloween". A Mexican friend of mine told me that he has tried to give these less fortunate kids candy instead of coins, which they usually refuse. I think it's sad to see a nice holiday being morphed into yet another way of begging.


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## Guest (Oct 30, 2011)

Why not use their arrival to begin teaching them about Mexican culture and the Day of the Dead. 01 November is for remembrance of the young whom have died, and 02 November is for the older whom have passed on. 

If you Google "Day of the Dead Mexico" , there are many websites with good information.

In some places, people will stay in the cemetery overnight like a wake, with many candles, food put out for their ancestors (Pan de Muerto), flowers, etc. Most others won't go that far, but will at least at least decorate their family's graves using bunches of orange flowers (cempasúchil marigolds) especially grown for these days. Locally, there are huge traffic jams around the cemeteries, kids have 31 October, and the 1st and 2nd of November off from school, as well as many large businesses taking vacations.


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

*Boo-tiful!!!!*



GringoCArlos said:


> Why not use their arrival to begin teaching them about Mexican culture and the Day of the Dead. 01 November is for remembrance of the young whom have died, and 02 November is for the older whom have passed on.


What a great idea! It is in line with the acculturation issue of learning the language (see many other entries). 

I mean, I love Halloween, We decorate the house with lights and ghosties and goblins and we sit outside with my family and everyone comes around and we get to talk with the neighbors and ooh and ahhh over their kids...but that is US and Euro-centric.

I met my wife at a Halloween party in Tel Aviv, and our son introduced it while he was teaching a a small town in Japan, and for three years they looked forward to his Halloween costumes and customs.

There are many things we give up as we turn the pages in our Life Book, and when we start to write a new one, and this may just be one of them. But then, there are new things for the Life Book...so the trade off isn't too bad.

 Oh, and BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Happy Halloween


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

Kids go out in costume "_morteando_". When they knock on a door, instead of saying "trick or treat," they sing a song about the Holy Spirit, and recite some comic rhymes. Traditionally, they are given bread and fruit, but candy is making inroads into the tradition. 

We live in a fairly traditional neighbourhood in Mexico City, and big family groups often go out to _mortear_ together. So you can answer your door and find a pack of 20 or 30 people out there! Savvy householders have a bottle of rum or tequila ready to serve the men in the group while the kids are getting their treat. Sometimes, the people _morteando_ will also be invited in to see the family altar (ofrenda).


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

maesonna said:


> Kids go out in costume "_morteando_". When they knock on a door, instead of saying "trick or treat," they sing a song about the Holy Spirit, and recite some comic rhymes. Traditionally, they are given bread and fruit, but candy is making inroads into the tradition.
> 
> We live in a fairly traditional neighbourhood in Mexico City, and big family groups often go out to _mortear_ together. So you can answer your door and find a pack of 20 or 30 people out there! Savvy householders have a bottle of rum or tequila ready to serve the men in the group while the kids are getting their treat. Sometimes, the people _morteando_ will also be invited in to see the family altar (ofrenda).


This is new to me and very interesting. Is it a traditional Mexican custom for Día de Muertos, or does it have something to do with Halloween?


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

Isla Verde said:


> This is new to me and very interesting. Is it a traditional Mexican custom for Día de Muertos, or does it have something to do with Halloween?


Traditional Mexican custom. By the way, this is me, M. in X. (we were at the party together a couple of hours ago. I have different names in different forums).


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

maesonna said:


> Traditional Mexican custom. By the way, this is me, M. in X. (we were at the party together a couple of hours ago. I have different names in different forums).


I had no idea that it was you. How clever of you to figure out who I was! See you on Tuesday.


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