Traditions

One thing that makes me feel connected to my friends are the traditions that we have. Whether it's for a birthday, a festival, or just a thing we do whenever we meet, it makes our bond much more special.

I have a Halloween tradition with one of my friends. As kids, Halloween was a day we looked forward to. We didnt really know the meaning of the festival, but we loved going trick or treating in our costumes and collecting candy.

Every year after coming back from school, I used to eat and get dressed up. I was a fairy one year, a casual tourist (I didn't have a costume so I wore jeans and a top), and a ghost. I used to meet up with my friends and we went door to door ringing and yelling "Trick or Treat!"

Sometimes the adults used to have candies ready for us and they gave us generous helpings. Sometimes they were clueless and a bit shocked to see a bunch of kids in silly costumes and face paint at their door. One time i remember and aunty gave us sweets instead of candy. I held the kaju barfi in my hand and walked around eating it.

After I moved away, I missed spending time with my old friends. So the next Halloween, I went back to my old community for Trick or Treat.

Our costumes that year was a ghost. We got a bedsheet and put it over our heads. But I realised that people couldnt recognise me. So i couldn't talk to my friends without removing the bedsheet first. Which kind of ruined the whole point of it, but it was still a fun time.

The next Halloween my friend came over to my new place. This society was much bigger than the last. That meant double the amount of chocolates. But since we hadn't spent much time together, we spent the whole evening just sitting in the park and talking.

That year was my favourite costume. We were the angel and the devil. To complete our look, we made our own wings and halo/horns. That was the only time I actually sat and made a Halloween costume. I felt super committed to this tradition.

Since then we've met every year. Sometimes if we couldn't make it on the 31st, we would meet during the first few days of November. Now we don't go collect candies, we just spend time together and dress up at home and watch movies.

Its a traditional I hope will never end with her. However this year seems bleak since we're both busy, but I guess that's part of growing up :(