Happy All-Hallows Eve

Preparations for this Halloween started weeks ago. Everything worth celebrating involves meticulous planning and lots of paint. Last year, Papa and I toured the neighbourhood, knocking on doors and friends were giving me candy. It was a splendid affair. This year, much more would be involved, so I thought it only beneficial to start tracing the ancient origins of this rather odd event.
For instance, it's pretty bizarre to start carving pumpkins. As it turns out, some guy named Jack tricked an evil spirit into a tree, he carved a cross on the tree and then when he died he couldn't go to heaven or below. Jack was relegated to walking around the earth for eternity. So now we mock Jack annually by carving funny faces on pumpkins and calling them Jack 'o laterns. That will teach him for trapping evil spirits in trees.
To properly do Jack justice, it takes a lot of effort. Maman and I sat down in the kitchen, newspapers spread across the floor and paint splashed in colourful dishes. When it came to painting my pumpkin, I was all business. Paint brush in one hand and a fistful of paint in the other, my gourd began its transformation. I was yearning to give my pumpkin a unique design that would set it apart from all the other candle-lit fruit sitting on the steps. I hovered over that gourd for minutes, splattering paint in just the right direction to achieve the design that would really make my masterpiece stand out in a crowd .
Before I knew it, the paint somehow seeped onto me. This always seems to happen, I start painting on a piece of paper or pumpkin and next thing I know, someone might as well have placed me on an easel. I could feel papa's eyes rolling from across the kitchen because he knows how paint that is supposed to "come off in water" really doesn't. But I assured papa, that this was the only way to properly release my creative power.
I can't believe all this decoration led up to tonight, where I would run around Leisure Avenue, knocking on doors, smiling for strangers and being handed free candy. Maman and I found this wonderful Lumpy costume at the Disney store in Moncton a few weeks ago. So this Halloween, I was a Heffelump. Personally, I feel there weren't many other kids out tonight as cute as I was, but that's only my opinion. Unfortunately, papa only took pictures of my costume on the slow camera, so proof of how cute I was will take a few days. Rest assured, though, I was pretty cute.
What is immediate, is the proof of how much candy I scored from the lovely people of Lincoln Heights. Coffee Crisps, suckers, Smarties, chips, cheezies, sweet'n'sour candies, chocolates, you name it, it landed in my bag. Once I returned home, I ditched the head gear and gloves and then plowed into my goodie bag. Now I understand the concept of a sugar rush that papa always warns me about. I don't think I've ever consumed so much chocolate in such a short period of time. I was a baby bouncing off the floors, couches, walls, dogs, whatever was in my way.
I have to say, for a weird ritual dating back to the ancient Celts, I'd say I made off pretty well tonight. I can't wait until next year, when I can actually say "trick or treat" without being too shy.