{"id":123,"date":"2013-10-31T16:33:37","date_gmt":"2013-10-31T20:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.culturallycaribbean.com\/?p=123"},"modified":"2014-04-17T11:36:42","modified_gmt":"2014-04-17T15:36:42","slug":"123","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.culturallycaribbean.com\/?p=123","title":{"rendered":"A Blue Butterfly for Halloween"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pumpkin<\/a>Halloween was not widely celebrated in Trinidad and Tobago when I was growing up. Sure, there were a few neighbourhoods where residents got into the spirit of things with costumes and trick-or-treating, but for the majority it was a day that passed like any other. This, of course, is in stark contrast to\u00a0its observance here in the U.S. where costumes are sometimes decided upon months in\u00a0advance; houses, yards and porches are decorated with ghosts, skeletons, witches and headstones; pumpkin carving is an important part of the holiday ritual; and parents accompany younger\u00a0trick-or-treaters door-to-door, or to trunk-or-treat events (a spin-off in which trick-or-treaters gather in a secure locale and are given goodies from the trunks of parked cars).<\/p>\n

My own\u00a0family’s participation has been limited to buying bags of candy (most of which I eat), putting a ghoulish mask and a few pumpkins on the porch (I think we even carved them last year), turning on the\u00a0light outside, and waiting for trick-or-treaters to come by. That’s why I was so taken aback when my preschooler announced close to two months ago that she was going to be a blue butterfly for Halloween.\u00a0Not that I have anything against blue butterflies – they’re lovely – but her proactivity in\u00a0declaring her intention to play a more participatory role in the celebration took me by surprise. Perhaps, though,\u00a0it shouldn’t have. Halloween may not have been mentioned in our house\u00a0since last year, but it has probably been a hot topic of conversation\u00a0among herself and\u00a0her friends at school for at least a month and a half.\u00a0This knowledge\u00a0has opened my eyes to the fact that\u00a0culture is indeed absorbed from a very young age, and that my husband and I\u00a0really need to step\u00a0up our\u00a0game\u00a0if we want\u00a0our children to understand and appreciate\u00a0Caribbean culture. The onus is squarely on us.<\/p>\n

So, here we are on Halloween.\u00a0She\u00a0went to\u00a0school this morning in her blue butterfly\u00a0costume,\u00a0holding a bright orange jack-o’-lantern bucket for all the candy she’ll get\u00a0at the school’s\u00a0party. Candy that I will put out of reach (and probably enjoy as well, darn it!).\u00a0She’ll no doubt tell me about all the fun she had\u00a0at school and all the candy (she thinks) she’s going to eat.\u00a0And I’m going to\u00a0use the opportunity to start a conversation\u00a0about the blue Emperor butterfly.\u00a0A\u00a0beautiful blue butterfly (she loves alliteration)\u00a0that is found in the tropics and after which the Emperor Valley Zoo in Trinidad is named.<\/p>\n

A happy Halloween to those who celebrate it!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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