Untimely trick-or-treaters

I'm currently hiding out in my piso. It's Friday before Halloween...and Spanish children don't seem to understand that trick-or-treating is something that happens exclusively on the 31st of October! Perhaps I shouldn't be too hard on them. If I had candy, I would open the door; since I am treatless, however, I've turned off the lights, drawn the curtains and am not answering the door. I think my house is a target since I am American, after all. But being American, I am also a little picky about the way our holidays are usurped and celebrated.

First off, trick-or-treating here is really lame. Nobody buys candy for trick-or-treaters, namely because it's not a Spanish holiday! So kids left with whatever can be dug up in the kitchen: a packet of sunflower seeds, potato chips, if you're lucky some old toffees or menthol lozenges. Not appealing. And finally, if you want to celebrate Halloween, do it on Halloween, for crying out loud!

What happens is the city organizes a Halloween party on the Friday closest to Halloween. The kids all dress up and that's when they attempt trick-or-treating--after all, it looks fun in the movies! I can understand that, but trick-or-treating on October 29, just doesn't sit right with me. In the case of Halloween, I might be a little too demanding. I've much bigger bone to pick with Santa Claus and Christmas.

Spaniards complain to no end about their native Reyes (the three Wise Men) being squelched by "Coca Cola's" Santa Claus. First of all, Santa Claus was NOT invented by Coca Cola...the modern popular image was part of an add campaign, but the Santa Claus tradition goes back to St. Nickolaus, and don't try to tell me otherwise! Santa Claus is not, as many people here are happy to believe, the menacing image of atheist capitalism killing off the religious roots of the Christmas season. I'm not religious, and I'm happy that Santa really doesn't have visible religious roots in a modern American Christmas; but that said, I can't stand to listen to outright lies about my country's traditions.

So Spaniards don't like Santa. The church even gives mass against him (whatever!). Nonetheless, there is the enticing convenience of our American celebration. Spanish kids traditionally get their gifts on the 6th of January, Epiphany, when the Wise Men gave their gifts to the baby Jesus. The school holiday for Spanish kids ends on the 7th. The problem with the Spanish tradition is that kids don't have any time to play with their new toys before school starts! So many parents opt to go along with Santa Claus simply because it gives their kids nearly two weeks to play (and or break) their new toys before they have to go back to school.

That, to me, is blasphemy!