Trick or treat?

Singaporeans who check out supermarkets where expats go may be wondering why Westerners seem to be eating a lot of pumpkins lately.
Places like Cold Storage in Holland Village and Jelita are full of sprawling stacks of plump pumpkins.
No, it's not due to a sudden hankering for pumpkins' sweet flesh.

This coming Tuesday (Oct 31) is Halloween night, when Westerners dress up as creepy creatures from the underworld and knock on the doors of neighbours' houses for sweets, crying out "trick or treat". And orange, the colour of pumpkins, is the symbolic shade of Halloween, along with black.
People also hollow them out, carve scary faces on them, and light a candle inside, creating a devilish decoration.

Yet, understandably, Halloween remains a strange ritual for many Singaporeans who are puzzled by Westerners' need to roam the streets dressed as skeletons, vampires, witches and zombies.
Take Jess Tan, 50, a housewife from Bukit Purmei. Apart from having read about kids dressing up in costumes on Oct 31, she knows little about the celebration of Halloween.

"I find the whole concept quite strange and would be very uncomfortable coming face-to-face with someone dressed in some gruesome outfit," she says.
Madam Joei Hum, 29, who is an assistant to director of the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, says the concept of Halloween is still foreign to the older Chinese generation.
She says: "We don't come from a Western background and many elders will wonder why people are dressing up like ghosts because it's not very auspicious.

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Still, some Singaporeans have not had their fill of crypt capers, despite two Hungry Ghost festival months this year instead of the normal one. They have boned up on Halloween and want some rattlin' good underworld action for themselves.
Nightclubs are concocting drinks with silly, scary names and coming up with Halloween dress themes.

Even children's creches are getting in on the act. Retailers at Great World City, for example, are putting out jars of candy not just for shoppers but also for trick-or-treat kids from child-care centre Kinderland on the mall's third floor.
Halloween may be an excuse to party, but it has its roots in seventh-century Christianity, when it was introduced as All Saints Day to replace a pagan festival of the dead, eventually becoming All Hallows' Eve ('hallow' means saint).

The festival has been creeping up on Singapore over several years.
John Bosco Lopez, 36, was one of the first to start a Halloween party business 11 years ago with the Original Halloween Bus Tour, a now-popular pub crawl to celebrate the night.
"When we started, Singapore didn't celebrate Halloween at all and we had only one bus-load of people," he says, adding that he has six bus-loads for Saturday.

"But people love to dress up and you don't normally have the chance in Singapore, whereas in clubs in Europe and the United States, you can dress in costumes on a regular night out."
Veteran nightclub Zouk has been holding Halloween parties since it opened in 1991, says marketing manager Tracy Philips, 28. Around 4,000 revellers fill the club to capacity every year, so it is a bit of a monster money-spinner, too.

A check with 10 other nightspots such as the Ministry Of Sound, Devils Bar, Q Bar, the Butter Factory, Attica and Bar None shows that they have been caught up in the trend, especially over the past four years.
Even the heartland is turning to horror this weekend as Paya Lebar Kovan Community Centre holds a Halloween party for its residents, complete with 'CSI-type games' from the hit forensic detective TV show, scary movie screenings and half the entire CC transformed into a "horror tunnel".
"Halloween is a happening holiday and we hope to attract teens, as most youths like to dress up and have fun, especially when many have been involved in the recent Cosplay phenomenon," says David Chee, 27, vice-chairman of the CC's youth executive committee.

He is referring to the Japanese subculture in which people dress as characters from comics.
The Social Development Service (SDS) is hoping that apart from chills, sparks will also fly onboard their Halloween Phantom Bus - a ride to various spooky spots for 60 singles.
"We've seen a good response to Halloween events in previous years because many members have travelled and studied overseas," says Joan Pereira, general manager of SDS who has planned Halloween-related events for the past four years.

"Besides, Halloween and even camping trips result in a lot of couples getting together because the men get to show how brave they are."
But why is Halloween, largely an American tradition, such a hit with some locals?
Assistant Professor Kenneth Chan of the School of Humanities and Social Science at Nanyang Technological University, who conducts a course on monstrosity, says: "The fact that Halloween is about the dark side, the naughty side, permits people to cast off their sense of restriction and have fun.

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When asked if it is against Singapore's Asian traditions to adopt a festival so foreign to its culture, Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Baey Yam Keng, 35, says: "No, why should there be, when few know the significance behind local festivals like the Mid-Autumn Festival, Deepavali or Hari Raya to begin with."
He adds that while it is a plus for revellers to learn the significance behind a celebration, festivities are simply a good way to bond and socialise with the community.
Others, though, reckon that Halloween belongs in the West's Twilight Zone, and should not be made a big deal of here.

Property agent Soon Guek Hay, 51, says: "I've seen trick-or-treating children on American TV shows, but I really don't know the meaning behind Halloween, so why should I celebrate it?"
Artist Ong Kim Seng, 61, does not see a strong relevance between the festival and Singapore culture: "It's very American so I was surprised to hear lately about so many Singaporeans celebrating Halloween.
"We have our own form of Halloween during the Hungry Ghost Festival, but ours is more frightening because of the myths we grew up with, whereas Halloween is more like a party to dress up for.

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Indeed, American expat Keenan Chao, 28, says: "In general, it's just one big party in the US for people between the ages of 18 and around 30."
Bank relationship manager Kelly Chow, 25, for one, cannot wait for festivities to start this weekend, regardless of Halloween's relevance to Singapore culture.
She will ditch her power suits for a $149 raunchy policewoman's uniform from "sensual store" Oohtique in Circular Road to attend Zouk's Halloween party Saturday, with friends dressed as flight attendants, nurses and even Playboy bunnies.

"When else can you wear such naughty costumes, except on Halloween?" she says.