Halloween. Isn’t it pretty much the same the world over? Here in the Florida Keys we’ve discovered the answer is no.

Halloween in Tavernier, Florida is quite different from what we are used to in Canada. On a scale of family friendly, Halloween in Tavernier falls mostly on the side of the kids. If you are looking for a more adult-themed Halloween in the Florida Keys then the 10-day Fantasy Fest costume party might be more up your alley.

But, for our family from Ottawa, the hot climate results in many differences from trick-or-treating in a cold climate. I shall explain.

Halloween in Canada: A Cold-Weather Dash

My framework for Halloween includes warm clothing, children and gleeful observation. Some people go to work dressed like cleavage-bursting pirates — school teachers being the exception. Librarians and school administrators tend to wear pumpkin-themed earrings and sweaters.

I can’t speak to the downtown dance club culture. But because we are a government town — with the Parliament buildings forming a social centerpiece — we do value our sleep. I would guess that taxis are more difficult to get on the weekend prior to Halloween, should the event occur on a weekday.

Halloween, for our family, is usually a 1-hour cold-weather dash. Here is a picture that I took last year of Karen at Halloween.

In 2012, we had a light dusting of snow on the ground during Halloween. It was also the year that Henry lost a shoe, cutting our evening even shorter than usual.

Our First Clues That Halloween in the Keys Was Different

Here, in the Florida Keys, we had two clues that Halloween was going to be different. First, there was an almost complete absence of fuzzy, warm costumes. And, second, our friend Dave told us that one of his neighbours spends $400 U.S. every year on Halloween candy.

If we had been on land then we would have noticed that golf carts were being delivered in the neighborhood — and not just a few —to households that wanted an extra boost to get them to where they needed to be on Halloween night.

Here is a picture of our kids as they set out on the streets in Tavernier, Florida.

Halloween in Tavernier Is a Carnival

Halloween in Tavernier is a carnival. People do not turn a light on, watch television and wonder when the doorbell will ring. Instead, homeowners sit in the street or on their driveways to give out candy.

Golf Carts, Haunted Houses and Halloween Crowds

Children and adults alike dressed in costume. One man was dressed as Colonel Sanders, and carried a KFC bucket. I believe he was collecting candy.

One house gave out water, beer and soft drinks. They had Ghostbusters playing on a television that they had rigged outside their house.

At another house, a television showed a sports game — football perhaps. Their house was steps away from the waterways and canals that allow people to access the water, right from their doorsteps.

As the night wore on, more crowds came. The Sheriff drove by with a helper giving pumpkins from his truck. Firemen gave out glow-in-the-dark necklaces.

Melting Chocolate and a Universal Halloween Tradition

Chocolates began to melt. We returned back to our catamaran SV Aphrodite. The kids inspected their haul. It was fun and, of course,  yummy — making it a universal Halloween experience.

Halloween in Tavernier? We’d recommend it for the young and young at heart.

Update: Where Else Can a Sailboat on Circumnavigation Find Halloween?

Outside of North America, cruisers seem to make their own fun regarding Halloween celebrations.

Since Halloween happens during Atlantic hurricane season, you won’t find many cruisers celebrating in the Caribbean hurricane box. Further, Halloween is not celebrated worldwide.

Some people within some cultures find Halloween to be a questionable celebration at best.

It would be silly, if not impossible, for me to make country-wide conclusions about attitudes towards Halloween.

For example, I wondered whether Halloween might cause offence in Muslim-majority places. However, Islamic scholars differ on whether Muslims should participate in Halloween. When in doubt, we err on the side of caution.

In more than a decade of cruising we have celebrated Halloween in many places.

Place	Country	What Halloween Looked Like
Tavernier, Florida	U.S.A.	Neighbourhood parties; we actually walked through a stranger’s haunted house.
Bluff Drive, Isle of Hope, Georgia	U.S.A.	Scenic, all-out displays.
Las Velas Restaurant, Luperón	Dominican Republic	Halloween at Las Velas Restaurant.
Calvigny and Hog Island anchorages	Grenada	Trick-or-treating in the anchorages.
Chaguaramas	Trinidad	A one-off event arranged by a cruising mom for kids and cruisers at the Power Boats Roti Shack.
Aboard our boat	Tonga	A private haunted-boat event arranged by Rick’s sister, Auntie Caroline, and assisted by Paul.
Apartment near Pangkor Marina	Malaysia	We carved a pumpkin and kept the celebration within our apartment.

Halloween Beyond Panama

Since Panama we have celebrated Halloween on our sailboat mainly by carving a pumpkin or gourd.

Halloween on Bluff Drive in Georgia was fantastic. But Halloween in Tavernier raised the bar in terms of full-on energy for trick-or-treating. It was lots of fun — just keep your eyes out for those golf carts.

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