Gurkensalat and Goblins! A German Halloween by Muriel Richards, Great Kills LibrarySeptember 23, 2015

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German Women Surrounded By Trees And Flowers. Image ID: 827036

Being a quarter German, I was rather pleased to read in a September 23, 2015 New York Times article that there is a current resurgence in German-American pride. While I remain woefully ignorant of my father's original name (I am cognizant that I have a paternal uncle "Vincent," but am not yet aware of my father's original last name, so my efforts thus far to locate and speak to my Uncle Vincent and any other paternal relatives has yet to meet with success), I know for a fact that my paternal grandfather was German. My German genes come to the forefront whenever a dish such as gurkensalat is on the table.

This year, while trying to decide on what costume to don for Halloween (in addition to a literal plethora of, Halloween-centered events for patrons of a variety of ages hosted by the NYPL, staff are permitted to wear a costume for Halloween), I figured that perhaps a dirndl dress, for starters, would represent a good choice for this year's costume, permitting me to combine the Bavarian celebration of Oktoberfest with the occasion of Halloween.  Not everyone heartily concurred with my choice of a Halloween costume this year.  My nephew's fiancée, Melissa, and another former college classmate of theirs, Alissa suggested that I bring the larger of my two black cats, Kipling, into the branch on Halloween, allow him to recline on the Circulation Desk whilst narrowing his eyes and twitching his tail at strategic moments, and thereby afford Kipling the opportunity to serve as my familiar as I don a witch's costume.  

As appealing as the immediately aforementioned scenario was and remains to me for a variety of reasons (not the least of which would be having an animal at work!), and Kipling's hefty weight of sixteen and a half pounds renders him more than a natural for said part, I know that because of potential allergy and other liability issues regarding patrons, the library would not permit Kipling to lounge on the Circulation Desk (not to mention that we very likely could not afford the amount of catnip Kipling would undoubtedly demand for his role on Halloween!)

So, with scenes from The Student Prince dancing before my eyes, I embarked on my quest to secure a few beer steins to fill with faux beer "heads" and a dirndl dress.  Readers of my October 2010 post will be familiar with the rather salient fact that my niece's idea of a good fit of a Halloween costume for me and my own differ considerably at times.  So, it was with a good deal of trepidation that I entered a costume store with her.  After tripping over several items as is my usual wont (think Mrs. Magoo let loose in Bloomingdales!), my niece managed to safely guide me to the "cultural" section of the Halloween store. Amanda wasted no time hastily informing the saleswoman that Amanda was not sharing any Halloween costume with me, and that we needed to select a dirndl dress for my Oktoberfest-Halloween look. The saleswoman took in my shape, and remarked, "Well, you are perfect for the fett Frau costume."  Amanda's countenance assumed a quizzical look and I bit my lower lip.  

Before one may completely verbally articulate the word wiener schnitzel, Amanda and I were exiting the costume store, arms overflowing with the fabric of my dirndl dress, an apron and two large beer steins replete with faux beer "heads."  I was experiencing a surfeit of joy, reflecting on the fact that, finally, Amanda was able to assist me in the obtaining of a Halloween costume for me that we could both agree upon, so I surmise that is why I didn't notice the display of plastic pumpkins stacked a la the fashion of a house of cards, prior to my colliding into same.  Over the din of plastic pumpkins crashing to the floor all around me, I overheard my niece exclaim, "Sie sind peinlich mich!"

The library contains a large number of items in its Circulating Collection to enhance the Oktoberfest and Halloween experiences of patrons!

Books

E-books

DVDs

Websites

View all posts by Muriel Richards