Trick or treating in the land of Dracula

Halloween fever has been taking over Romania for a few years now, although it is still considered an event mostly for young people and expats. BR surveys the providers of the best costumes and throwers of the fanciest Halloween party in the country.

Oana Vasiliu

Maybe Romanians don’t celebrate Halloween with colorful festivities like the United Kingdom, Mexico or America, but we do have one special ingredient that appears in Halloween parties all over the world and it is authentically Romanian: Dracula. According to Cristina Lungoci, event manager at the Party Factory company, last year the Dracula costume was the number one choice among trick-or-treaters. After this “most-rented” costume for both genders, women dressed as witches or nurses. The Star Wars Darth Vader character was popular in 2011, as were sexy dresses, said Virginia Petrescu of Fabrica de Magie.

For kids, last year’s bestsellers were the ghost groom costume (RON 143) for boys, and purple witch costume (RON 195) for girls, said Alexandru Stefanut, logistics manager of Jokeshop. Children also went for the vampire girl costume (RON 103), Batman (RON 184) and Spiderman (RON 184), added Petrescu.

But Halloween isn’t all about the costumes. One of the best known symbols of this event is the pumpkin, more precisely pumpkin carving. People have been making jack o’lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack,” who invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he convinced Satan to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it in his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed Satan, under the condition that he would not bother him for one year and that, should Jack die, the Devil would not claim his soul.

The next year, Jack again tricked Satan into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree’s bark so that the Devil could not come down until he promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years. To mark this Irish myth, children aged from 8-12 are invited to Antipa Museum over October 26-27 to design their own Halloween decorations. Quilling and decoupage workshops will help improve their do-it-yourself abilities.

Halloween party in Dracula’s homeland

The Transylvanian Society of Dracula (TSD) is organizing for the 21st year a “Classic Dracula” Society Tour, which starts on October 27 and finishes on November 3, in the city of Sighisoara. For those in search of adventure, TSD promises that the Count will be meeting everyone on October 31 to introduce his New Countess. The tour comprises sightseeing in Bucharest, a visit to Peles Museum in Sinaia, then discovering the buffer-zone prior to Count Dracula’s domain (Bistrita County), following in Jonathan Harker’s footsteps – as the only known way to the castle, Sighisoara, the birthplace of Prince Vlad Dracula, and last stop, Arefu village, near Curtea de Arges, a small community that used to serve Prince Dracula. The tour costs EUR 895 and includes transport, accommodation, meals, a Halloween party and museum fees.