By Rada Lazarova (YES 2016-2017, Bulgaria, hosted by PAX in Neenah, WI)

I re-created Halloween in Bulgaria for a kindergarten in my hometown, Varna, on October 31, 2017. I worked with another YES student from Varna, Emel Hyusein (YES ’17), to make "Halloween in Varna 2017" a success. Another great volunteer, Katerina Jeleva, also participated in the project by taking videos and photos.

The 30 children at the kindergarten, ages five to six, had an amazing time playing games, dressing up in costumes, creating masks, and eating candy. We started off by explaining what Halloween is and how it is celebrated around the globe, and then shared our own Halloween experience from when we lived in the United States. Afterwards, the kids had the chance to design and color their own masks, which were made out of paper plates. Their favorite activity was dressing up, pretending to be pirates, witches, funny clowns, and many other interesting characters. We played Halloween games such as “Mummies,” where the kids had to wrap themselves in toilet paper and act like they are mummies, and “Put the Spider on the Web,” where they had to put a fake spider on a web with their eyes covered by a scarf. We gave out candy and explained "trick-or-treat" -ing to the kids. The kids were also excited to see the Jack-o'-lantern we had carved. 

All of the costumes and accessories were donated to the kindergarten, so that they could use them for future plays and activities, as well as next year’s Halloween! The children were very happy after the event because it was something different from their ordinary routine and they enjoyed learning more about the holiday since it is getting more and more popular in Bulgaria. This project was very inspirational for us (the organizers) too. We are now motivated to organize similar activities in the future. Everyone participating had a great time, full of positive emotions. We cannot wait for next year’s Halloween to come!