Halloween in New York

This weekend New York was hot... You'll see why!

As you probably know, on the night of October 31st., everyone here celebrates Halloween. For US it is almost like a National Holiday. Halloween has its roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is said that it was the Irish immigrants who trasnfered versions of their traditions in America during the Famine of 1840. The word Halloween represents a Scots variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even, which means the night before All Saints Day.

For Halloween everything turns black and orange, kids go around the neighbourhoods trick-or-treating, cinemas and TV channels showcase horror-movies marathons, and there are costume parties everywhere.

No city celebrates Halloween as New York.

Since I got here, early in the morning, I got to feel the Halloween spirit first-hand: all the staff and employees of the Airport greeted visitors dressed as vampires, witches and huge pumpkins. And it was six in the morning!!

Parties in the Big Apple had begun earlier, on Friday Night actually and, since September, about 725 "Pop-up Shops," selling tricks and costumes literally poped-up in key places around the city. They will last till the first week of November. Why? Because of the recession, of course. As many shops had to close, owners prefer to rent the free spaces temporally. After Halloween, they will become All-Christmass boutiques.

I saw many of this shops in Downtown and I was surprised by the fact that the biggest selling masks were those of Michael Jackson and Bernie Maddof... a dead and a convict!!!

The best shop for costumes and make-up, I have to say this, is definitely Ricky's on Broadway.

Halloween in New York is real fun, everyone gets dressed and yesterday we had a lovely mild weather to enjoy it.

Walking down 5th Avenue towards the building I was staying at, around 5 pm, people passed me by dressed as witches, vampires, monsters and even as sado-masochists!

As I got closer, I saw a huge crowd surrounding the building while ambulances and fire trucks were stopping the traffiic. The appartment below mine was on fire!!!!!

They already were evacuating everyone, many barefoot or half-naked, as if they were just taken from their showers. The fire-fighters (many!) looked so Nicolas Cage or John Travolta!

Tourists took pictures and some even called their hometowns to tell everyone the huge adventure they were witnessing...
I sat on the steps of St. Patrick's Church to wait... I even got to meet many of my neighbours.
Finally, a couple of hours later, the Fire-Fighter-in-chief, with its incredible suit, allowed us to get back inside. No mayor damages, thanks God.
But what an advenure!

This morning, under a light rain, the 2009 ING New York Marathon was held around town: 42 km from Staten Island to Central Park and almost 40.000 runners. By far, the most popular marathon in the world!
As usual, an Ehiopian-born Meb Keflezighi won the Men's Marathon (but he's an american now) and another Ethiopian, Derartu Tulu, won the women's.
It's a fact: next year I'll run it too. I'll start training right now, going down as fast as possible the 25 floors of my NY building.
You never know... Where there was fire...