Two Halloweens


  • In the Holy Land, Halloween is not a particularly big deal (although we are told that in March, kid will dress up for Purim.)
  • For a North American child, missing a year of trick-or-treating is a big deal. We lucked out doubly.
  • First, the Lutherans held a potluck the weekend prior, including trick-or-treating stations through their grove on the Mount of Olives.
  • Halloween candy in North America is quite standardized (big box stores + rigid peanut requirements), but this yielded strange candies from Israel, Turkey and Ukraine. 

  • The second event was organized by neighborhood parents, with over twenty houses participating.
  • East Jerusalem is quite dark at night, but we quickly found a train of children following the route.
  • Houses featured mostly standard North American candy bowls, but also some baked goods and bobbing for apples.
  • Our neighbors from South Africa had never experienced a Halloween, so Lena trained the kids in the art of trick-or-treating and I assured the parents that kids knocking on a stranger’s door and demanding candy is not insane.
  • The parade definitely confused some locals – used to ultra-Orthodox neighbors but not dinosaurs and Spidermen – who watched the spectacle unfold.
  • In the end, it is all about the loot and judging by how many big handfuls that went in her bag, Lena did quite well.

Location: Jerusalem

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