Halloween Ximending 西門町Style

The Taiwanese celebrate every--I repeat--EVERY holiday, bar none, without exception, and with liberty and justice and something yummy to eat for all. You might not get the day off work, but you can always celebrate!

So it is with Halloween, that spooky trick-or-treat extravaganza that Americans do each 31st of October. In Taiwan, it can take the whole week. You want costumes? We got costumes. Heck, we've got a whole STREET of costumes! (You can get your Christmas and Easter stuff while you're at it.)

Ximending 西門町 is where a lot of the young folks hang out and we were under the impression that something would be happening there for Halloween. We raised the average age a tad just to see what was going on during the Saturday before the holiday. We definitely weren't dressed for the occasion. Imagine our disappointment when we fit right in!

Somewhat dazedly, we wandered the length of the market and saw nothing particularly out of the ordinary, so we just sat down to eat the yummy stuff we got at one of the food stores. Just as we were about to head back, the parade came walking right toward us! We had to get out of the way or get swept up in it. We snapped pictures as fast as we could. (CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE THEM.)

Rather than gore and ghoulishness, we saw a whole contingent of Japanese-style fantasy characters, including sword-wielding warriors, mages and sorceresses. Right alongside them was an errant Snow White, several furries, a contingent of Dark Elves, and an entire posse of light-saber-swinging Jedi with a few Siths thrown in for something to swing at. Darth Maul more than made up with enthusiasm what he lacked in height.

We followed the parade around the corner to a small square where lights had been set up. The various contingents posed for group pictures. When visitors wanted individual or smaller group shots, the revelers graciously obliged.

We were particularly impressed with the sheer joy these folks got out of dressing up in such elaborate costumes, even on a relatively hot night. Here are some other images from that amazing half hour in the square.

 There was a room just off the square where a bunch of guys were putting on the traditional Taiwanese face paint for the guardians. Awesome. These are my [Mark's] favorite local icons! Too cool!

Note to self: Never get between a fantasy hero and his/her lollipop.

This fellow stood well over six feet tall, especially with the elaborate coiffure. He obliged many eager photographers, even holding the cell phone camera for a young girl whose arms were too short to get both him and her in the same frame.

These two were checking the photo to see if it came out. They were both very happy with the results.

Here's Spiderman the Grayscale Wall-scaler with the Dread Pirate Roberta "Pink Bob" Roberts.

Note Spidey's extra, um, equipment. Training wings, maybe?

The mother of this delightful little guy took picture after picture of him with these heroes and heroines. Here he is with the Dark Elves.

Several people carrying boxy packs on their backs arrived at the square and unpacked these amazingly elaborate, pose-able dolls.

This is my favorite image from that evening. Blue Boy meets the Mighty Red Warrior Maiden.

Both Ping and I had no experience with such serious cosplay before. Before this experience, the concept seemed about 70% curious and 30% weird. It turns out that this is like any hobby. When you do it well, you'd love to share it with others who appreciate all the work that went into it.

These folks were gracious, enthusiastic, patient and had a great sense of humor.

Isn't that what it's all about?

We were glad to have stumbled into this whole scene, not knowing what to expect, and coming away with a whole new appreciation for it!