A giant dinosaur roamed the stairs, ghosts and mysterious figures in gas masks and other creepy disguises appeared in the rooms, and ordinary pumpkins turned into glowing monsters.
One creation was particularly impressive: a terrifying skull mask with enormous teeth and dark mesh covering the eye sockets. It looked like something straight out of a horror movie. And the best part? The children made it themselves!
In fact, quite a few things at this year’s celebration were made by the children. They even prepared their own pizza. And since ordinary pizza simply wouldn’t do for Halloween, they cut all sorts of delightfully gruesome little shapes out of ham to decorate it. 🍕
But what makes us especially happy is something that goes beyond this one celebration.
For several years now, our Yulia has been the fairy behind the children’s creative workshops. And we’re beginning to see something wonderful happening: the children are coming up with their own ideas and making things at home, entirely on their own initiative. Not because someone has asked them to, but simply because they want to create something.
That means a lot to us.
That evening, we carved pumpkins, played games, dressed up, took photos, cooked, laughed, and, of course, ate far too many sweets.
But there is another side to our Halloween celebrations.
Halloween is a rather curious holiday when you think about it. We deliberately invent frightening creatures, put on scary masks, frighten one another, and then laugh about it. Because everyone knows it’s just pretend. You can take off the mask, turn off the spooky music, hug your friends, and the fear is gone.
But for some Belarusian children, people wearing masks bring back very different memories.
They remember armed men in black uniforms arriving in the middle of the night, while the whole family was asleep. The shouting. The searches. Their parents being beaten and taken away. For some of these children, their mother or father is still in a Belarusian prison, still waiting to come home.
Moving to a safe country doesn’t erase those memories. And then come all the challenges of starting over: a new school, a language you don’t yet understand, a country that still feels unfamiliar, and the need to rebuild your life almost from scratch.
We cannot change what these children have already been through. And we cannot make all their fears disappear in a single evening.
But we can help them create other memories, too.
Memories of carving a giant pumpkin together. Of making a wonderfully creepy monster with their own hands. Of preparing spooky pizza, laughing over each other’s costumes, and running away from a dinosaur.
Memories of being surrounded by friends and adults they can trust. Of discovering that life isn’t only about getting through difficult times. There’s also room for laughter, imagination, creativity, silliness, and joy.
Halloween has become a little tradition at Our House. And we want children to have more and more traditions like this. Something familiar and good to hold on to when so much else in their lives is uncertain. Something they can look forward to, year after year.
And we hope that, from now on, the only monsters these children have to face are the ones they dream up and make with their own hands. 🧡
Warm regards,
The Our House Team
P.S. If you’d like to support this year’s Halloween celebration, we would be grateful for a contribution of any amount. Every bit of support helps us create happy memories for children who have already been through so much.
🎃 Support our Halloween fundraiser
