Living mummy in Geneva

Geneva, Switzerland – What is it that Americans love about Halloween beyond the childish thrill of having license to consume endless plastic pumpkin containers of sweets?

In fact, as a child growing up in rural Vermont, the best treats were always the homemade caramel apples and candied popcorn our neighbors 4 miles down the road made every year for the handful of kids who would appear in their yard.

Beyond the sweets, it was a social occassion, a chance for parents to show up unannounced, at friends houses for a bit of local gossip and maybe a sip of hard cider from the recent apple harvest.

Mummy shakin it with Arabian Princess

As an adult, Halloween has become a once a year opportunity to try on other personas, to try on being Gene Simmons for a night (Halloween 1994) or even exaggerated transgender explorations (Monica Lewinsky Halloween 1993).

This year I had the funny experience of being someone I once was (17 year old graduate of a Norwegian gymnas) when my wife pulled out my now ridiculous looking graduation outfit.

Buried beneath the corny devil and witch outfits now available at Migros in Switzerland, is still the thrill of being able to become someone else for a night, checking our familiar personalities at the door and inviting friends and neighbors to journey for a few hours to the land of never never land; in short, to remember what it is to reinvent ourselves.

Shiek G. with Samfunnsfag Student

In fact, this year we attempted, somewhat successfully to transplant this very American (North and South) tradition to Switzerland. I must confess that the ratio of under 12 year old party goers to adult revelers was around 2 to 1, but thanks to a few stalwart American and Swiss friends, we did not let the munchkins steal the show.

The winner of the costume contest? An amazing mummy specimen on loan from the Museum of Natural History (over 12 crowd), complete with vintage era linen wrappings.

The festival will continue to be a staple in our house so plan your calendars accordingly, and rsvp early as we expect an even stronger turnout of the voting age crowd in 2009! (apologies in advance to the munchkins).

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