Halloween. This "holiday" to me has always meant carving pumpkins, haunted houses, corn mazes, dressing up, and giving candy to cute trick or treaters (and of course, eating some of the candy as well).
Every year, it was common to hear "what are you going to be for halloween?". A question for adults and children alike. Some of my favorite adult costumes over the years have included...
Light Bright (thats right, the board game)
Batman
The 5 little piggies (I was the little piggy that went "weeeeee" all the way home)
Halloween is an American holiday, so of course I wasn't expecting the same experience in Norway. But yes, I still dressed up in a costume (5 shades of Grey), watched scary movies and even had trick or treaters.
Norwegians have started to adopt the halloween culture, although certainly not to the extent that they do in the states.
What I learned this year about Halloween in Norway.
1. Some adults do dress up, but it isn't what you're used to seeing in the US. Girls aren't using it as an excuse to wear as little as possible. Some still do, but I saw more actual scary costumes out than I have in the US. A girl with fake blood all over her face and clothes, a girl in a shark attack costume and lots of face paint.
2. I didn't see a single carved pumpkin. I imagine it is because pumpkins are too expensive and not so easy to find. They did have some decorations at the store, so we made sure the kids knew they could come to our door!!
3. Kids do dress up and go trick or treating, but instead they say "Knask eller knep", which translates almost exactly. The Donald Duck cartoon was the one to translate this phrase to Norwegian.
4. They do not have a wide selection of individually packed candy. My cousins thought I was nuts when I told them they needed to buy candy that was individually packaged. You can't give loose cookies or candies to kids. Apparently, not a huge deal in Norway. I still insisted so we ended up with a few small lemon chew candies, some balloons and a few packages of nudler (ramen noodles). I never thought kids would go for this but sure enough...it was the MOST popular item in our candy basket.
Overall, a great Halloween. I'm looking forward to spending some other holidays here in Norway. Next up...Thanksgiving!!!
Every year, it was common to hear "what are you going to be for halloween?". A question for adults and children alike. Some of my favorite adult costumes over the years have included...
Light Bright (thats right, the board game)
Batman
The 5 little piggies (I was the little piggy that went "weeeeee" all the way home)
Halloween is an American holiday, so of course I wasn't expecting the same experience in Norway. But yes, I still dressed up in a costume (5 shades of Grey), watched scary movies and even had trick or treaters.
Norwegians have started to adopt the halloween culture, although certainly not to the extent that they do in the states.
What I learned this year about Halloween in Norway.
1. Some adults do dress up, but it isn't what you're used to seeing in the US. Girls aren't using it as an excuse to wear as little as possible. Some still do, but I saw more actual scary costumes out than I have in the US. A girl with fake blood all over her face and clothes, a girl in a shark attack costume and lots of face paint.
2. I didn't see a single carved pumpkin. I imagine it is because pumpkins are too expensive and not so easy to find. They did have some decorations at the store, so we made sure the kids knew they could come to our door!!
3. Kids do dress up and go trick or treating, but instead they say "Knask eller knep", which translates almost exactly. The Donald Duck cartoon was the one to translate this phrase to Norwegian.
4. They do not have a wide selection of individually packed candy. My cousins thought I was nuts when I told them they needed to buy candy that was individually packaged. You can't give loose cookies or candies to kids. Apparently, not a huge deal in Norway. I still insisted so we ended up with a few small lemon chew candies, some balloons and a few packages of nudler (ramen noodles). I never thought kids would go for this but sure enough...it was the MOST popular item in our candy basket.
Overall, a great Halloween. I'm looking forward to spending some other holidays here in Norway. Next up...Thanksgiving!!!
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