Halloween, as we knew it in The States, is celebrated on a much smaller scale in Valencia. In fact, we weren't even sure if there would be any festivities to participate in. According to Anthony and Victoria, the 'day' is more of a 'night,' and instead of kids and candy, it involves adults and alcohol and stupidity. Henry and Caroline, however, were not very satisfied with this description and were determined to don some sort of costumery - even if they were the only people in town to do so! Bill and I have wonderful memories of Halloweens past with our kids, so we were more than willing to assist them in their endeavor. Selections at the local megastore were slim, but the kids managed to grab a couple of things to piece together some costumes that let them feel in the spirit of the day.
Luckily, on the morning of the 30th, Anthony called to invite us to accompany them to a kids' Halloween party with some of their friends - mostly Americans and Australians. Needless to say, Henry and Caroline were thrilled! Most of the other kids were in the 3-5 year age range, but our kids didn't seem to mind. It was bittersweet for me to watch Henry transition from being one of the little kids at the party to being 'the big kid' (a role he enthusiastically welcomed). Fortunately, one of the American dads had some pumpkins for the older kids to carve, so everyone was happy and entertained. It was an early evening, as trick-or-treating has not really taken hold in Spain yet (thank goodness).
The real holiday here is All Souls' Day (November 1). It was a gorgeous day and we spent it at an amazing park with Anthony, Victoria, Isabella and Antonio, as well as one of the families that we met last night. The park was packed full of Spanish families since most business were closed in observance of the holiday.
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