Cinnamon patrol

It surprised me last year that Halloween was such a big deal here. But of course it is Celtic in origin and it was Irish immigrants that brought the tradition to North America. In the week leading up to Halloween there's lots of fireworks (obtained illicitly) and every school kid needs a costume (the conversation in the office sounds like "we've got one goblin, an axe-murder and little Niamh is really too young but we dressed her up like a ghost anyway". There's pumpkins, trick-or-treating, bonfires, and even a special Halloween baked-good called barmbrack.

It's also around this time of year, often on Halloween night itself it seems, that the temperature drops and Ireland starts freezing over for the winter - it certainly makes more sense as a festivity in the northern hemisphere - it's cold (very actually), really dark, and a bit misty.

There was a ghoulish parade through the city that ended in Smithfield and culminated in lots of kids dancing. It was well attended by the local kids. I recharged my flash batteries and braved the elements to take some shots (slideshow here).

Labels: david