This was our second Halloween here in Des Moines, but this year was the first that we actually celebrated. Last year was spent with Chinese food and an episode of Ghost Adventures in the loft. Some might think this was a pretty uneventful way to spend Halloween - and they'd be right. The Chinese food was sub par at best, and halfway through the night long Ghost Adventures Live episode, we found out it was all a hoax. BOO!
Now that we have a child, we can actually participate in trick-or-treating without strange looks! Only we couldn't participate in trick-or-treating, but rather begging. The Des Moines area celebrates two holidays for some reason - Halloween and Beggar's Night. The latter is very similar to the trick-or-treating on Halloween night back in Nebraska. Rather than say "trick-or-treat," beggars are supposed to do a trick or joke in return for a treat. Des Moines is apparently extremely proud of this as all you hear on the radio or read in the newspaper is about how you'd better have your joke ready for Beggar's Night. I can appreciate how the native Des Moinesians are attempting to keep the tradition alive, but it doesn't seem to be working. We spent Beggar's Night at our friends' house and most of the beggars would fore go the joke and go straight for the candy bowl.
We decided to take our little ones out to beg at a few houses to tell a joke or two (probably more so for candy for us to eat rather then their first experience in a costume). Azra went as a banana, but I can't say that she enjoyed it too much:
Once she was next to her boyfriend Cavan, then she was much more content:
All-in-all it was a good night, and Halloween night at another friend's house was fun as well. However, an eve to the eve of All Saints Day seems to be a little unnecessary. Let's just stick to good ol' Halloween.