Halloween is one of my favorite time of year. And this year was a special treat because we are in Scotland! The term Halloween was derived by a Gaelic phrase "All Hallows Evening" and marked the end of summer and beginning of winter or the "darker days." Traditionally, bonfires were lit and rituals were held to ward off evil spirits. People began wearing costumes on this day to disguise themselves from evil spirits. And centuries later, we've carried on with the theme.
Another cool fact about Halloween in the UK is that the children here have to work for their candy. Back home, kids just ring the door bell and ask for candy. Boring. In the UK, the children are required to tell you a joke before asking for candy. No joke? No candy for you! When I heard about this tradition the night before at book club, I got all excited about passing out candy the next day. Every time I opened the door, these little cutie pies had their list of jokes ready to fire off one by one. I didn't even have to ask. It was so cute! We need to bring this tradition to the US.
After passing out candy, we headed out to Slain's Castle for the night. I really wanted to go haunted housing and Aberdeen provides such a great backdrop for Halloween, what with all the Castles and Gothic architecture. But sadly, they don't have them here:( The closest thing I could find was a 2 hour ghost tour around the city. We decided we rather spend our time drinking:) We had a great time with friends at the castle, which was awesomely decorated. And even though our costumes were last minute, I think they turned out great. Click here to see pics.
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