trick or treat

Sage happily wore her fairy costume complete with wings as we braved the mad crowds at Megamall to visit her ninong Vin. I thought about wearing the costume I got in Florida - black cape and full mask - but finally decided that it would just be too much trouble. Besides, in this part of town, there is no true Halloween tradition for adults, unlike say, Alabang where people have a hell of time dressed as ghoulies or more pop culture personalities. And besides, Nikki and I had no plans of attending a Halloween party that night, being the slugs that we are.

Most of the shops had run out of candy by the time we got there, and those that still had them had long lines snaking back towards various points in the mall. But Vin, of course, had goodies for Sage (whom we trained to say "trick or trade" in the vain hopes of him giving her comic books) and treated her to her fill of rides at the amusement arcade across the store.

What gladdened me were the hordes of children whose parents took pains to dress up in a dizzying plethora of characters: witches, Jedi, princesses, superheroes, undead, mythological creatures. There were also adults (obviously cosplayers) who walked around as anime or Ragnarok characters. I am so tired of seeing these young people whenever there is any occassion in the mall. I have nothing against dressing up to fulfill your fantasies, but very few of them are truly inspired.

Later, I helped helm the store when Vin replenished the obliterated candy supply. A woman came in, dragging one of the tens of Tiggers in the mall, and pushed the little boy towards me, encouraging him to ask for candy. When her son's bashfulness proved imprevious to her instructions, she took matters into her own hands and said to me...

"Tricker's treat!"

And that's what you get when you appropriate some other culture's tradition without bothering to understand even the most basic thing about it.