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Maritza Martinez and her sons outside her Front Street store. Her candy was completely gone by 4 PM. |
While the American custom of celebrating Halloween with costumes and 'trick and treating' may be rooted in lower-class 19th century Scottish immigrants (the Puritans were agin' it, see more here), it has been readily adopted throughout the country by the latest wave of immigrants from Mexico and countries further south.
Perhaps a thousand or so people strolled the sidewalks of Plainfield's downtown shopping district as shopkeepers handed out small candies and other treats.
Often enough, parents were costumed as well as their children. And many adult men were made up in white face paint with black around the eyes -- meant to recall not zombies (the current fad) but skulls associated with Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) ceremonies which traditionally take place overnight today (All Saints) and tomorrow (All Souls) -- see more here.
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This young Roman soldier drew crowds of youngsters passing out candy in front of his place of employment. |
While this Latino custom of trick-and-treating merchants instead of residences may not displace the older neighborhood tradition, it certainly adds an attractive and fun activity to the downtown mix.
Maybe it's time for a Halloween Parade?
-- Dan Damon [follow]
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1 comments:
Councilman Storch and I were downtown for an early portion of the evening--downtown was thronged--it was fun to see so many children out and about, along with all the open stores. In the neighborhoods as well, there were lots of kids out enjoying the holiday, in spite of the weather!
Rebecca
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