Once again, it’s that time at PCIS for All Hallows Eve (AKA Samhain, AKA Halloween). Of course, like any western holiday, Halloween has its limitations in terms of what you can expect to see and get as far as celebrating. There seems to be the same set of kids costumes that are sold all over (some of which are actually amusing). Along with the typical Disney-inspired costumes, you can also find the standard bloody knives, scythes, and cool masks.

Like pretty much all western holidays that are celebrated here, it’s always the same procedure, meaning that it’s a time to shop (especially Christmas). Since the kids don’t have door-to-door trick-or-treating like we do back home in the USA, they have to make do with celebrating at school. On Friday, the kids brought in their costumes (many of which I remembered from last year), and we had one period in the afternoon for activity time. In our class, I had the kids make their own masks from paper plates. Here were the fruits of their labor.

Nothing says “Halloween” like a flea market held in the gym, which is operated by fellow students trying to sell and bargain their stuff. As I said, buying things is definitely something that is ingrained in modern Chinese society as part of celebrating anything western. Don’t think that you can swindle these kids either; they come out of the womb knowing how to hustle.

For me, though, the real pièce de résistance was the costume worn by one of my students, Justin. He seemed to be one of the few kids who understood the fun of being creative on Halloween—and, of course, how fun it is to be gruesome. See for yourself.