Trick-Or-Treating in Vancouver

A giant spider greets children on the roof

Halloween is upon us again and the ritual of dressing up and going house to house to collect candy is the highlight of the year for kids.

A werewolf on the prowl...

Interestingly a neighbourhood church is the starting point for some young kids to begin their Halloween festivities. Outside is a makeshift tent where people can get a cup of hot chocolate and a hotdog, and inside the gym there are candies and fruits: apples, bananas and mandarin oranges.

A relative works for a Christian school in Hong Kong and told me some teachers and staff would strongly disapprove of practicing these pagan rituals. But here they were in Vancouver, dressed up in Halloween costumes and handing out free food and drinks while promoting the church's services.

In any event we started trick-or-treating, going up and down the street and going to homes that had pumpkins or Halloween decorations. Many were generous in giving out candy, like two to three pieces per person, or even full size candy bars! One woman post-Covid continues her practice of using a long pipe chute from her door to give out candies to kids.

Some houses were elaborately decorated with several pumpkins carved, gardens littered with graves and bloody body parts as well as skeletons. Others had werewolves, or aliens in suits! 

... and an alien back from work?

After over an hour the candy haul was pretty impressive. The chocolates and candies will be consumed by both kids and parents...