|
|
 |
APA Halloween Costumes: The Theme is Rice
By Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Asian American Village acting
editor
Every year at Halloween, I open my door to at least seven or eight
little Korean girls dressed up as, well, little Korean girls. They are
so cute in their billowing pink and green chiffon. I always make sure to
encourage their budding Asian pride. Meanwhile I try not to think too
hard about the implications of hanbok (and qipao and salwar kameez,
etc.) as costumes worn only on Halloween and Lunar New Year/Diwali
performances.
Of course, I usually get a few white girls dressed up in bathrobes
with chopsticks in their hair, and a couple of ninjas, too. What can you
say? At least it is better than some of the commercial costumes like the
horrific Kung Fool costume of a few years back.
Still, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and a great time for
my favorite pastime, stealth education. Time to get creative! Showcase
our Asian Pacific American heritage and heroes, and educate your kids
and others along the way! Don’t limit yourself to the commercialized
store-bought costumes or even the boring standard make-it-yourself
costumes featured in mainstream magazines like Martha Stewart Kids (you
know, sweet pea, ladybug, bee). A recent advertisement that came to my
house featured dozens and dozens of costumes for children and adults,
and the only Asian face was a woman dressed in a sexy devil costume. How
stereotypical can you get?
This Halloween, dare to be an Asian or Asian Pacific American
character that resonates -- one of which you
can be proud, one with which you can have fun. In
the past, my daughters have dressed up as Hello Kitty, Sailor Moon,
Michelle Kwan, a Chinese Princess, Zhang Zi-Yi in Crouching Tiger
Hidden Dragon, and Chang Er the Moon Lady (at least six times).
Every year well-meaning white ladies ask them, “Oh, and what are you? A
little cat?” To which my children always respond incredulously, “No! I’m
Hello Kitty (get with it, lady!)” or “I’m Chang Er, the Moon Lady (Don’t
you know anything? Everyone knows her!)”
 I
bet this year will be the year of Cho Chang, when our kids can finally
dress up as Harry Potter characters, much to the envy of the other
little kids who could dress up in Mulan and Jasmine costumes in years
past, but will not be able to pass this time.
Here are some ideas for new classic APA costumes. The theme is rice.
Check out our make-it-yourself Rice Costumes: A bag of Kokuho Rose Rice,
a box of Mochiko Sweet Rice Powder, and one Spam Musubi!
Special thanks to good our friends at Koda Farms for sending the
bags! You will have to plan ahead as you have to eat through a lot of
rice and mochi before you can use the bags/boxes.
Bag of Rice Costume:
- Buy a 20 pound bag of your favorite
brand of rice (Kokuho Rose is best as it comes in a paper bag and
tastes great too)
- Eat the rice (or empty it into
containers)
- Cut off the front, back, and sides
of the bag
- Glue and tape the faces of the bag
onto a old white T-shirt. You can put the side panels on the back
for more color.
- If your child is too skinny like
mine, tie a sweater around her waist or put her coat on under her
costume for padding (If you’re a real Asian mom, you’re worried
about her catching pneumonia while trick or treating at night
anyways).
 Box
of Mochiko Costume:
- Buy a 50 pound bag or a 16 oz. box
of Mochiko Sweet Rice Powder
- Make a lot of orange colored mango
mochi for your Halloween party
- Cut the front, back, and sides off
the box or bag
- If the logo is too small, you can
enlarge it on a copy machine
- Glue and tape the mochiko labels
onto two large pieces of white cardboard or a white box that fits
around your middle.
- Connect the two pieces of cardboard
with short pieces of rope or shoulder straps to make a Mochiko
sandwich board. If you use a box, make shoulder straps so the box
hangs from your shoulders around your middle.
One Spam Musubi Costume
- Get a plain white T-shirt
- Cut 2 long pieces of pink fabric,
about 6 inches wide (that’s the Spam)
- Glue pink fabric down the front and
back of white T-shirt
- Cut a long piece of black fabric or
get a black sash (that’s the nori)
- Tie black sash or fabric loosely
around your waist
Or for the more esoteric version, the true test of how cool your
friends are, wear a pink T shirt, a fluffy white cardigan that opens in
the front, and tie a black sash around your waist.
Sure, some of your Caucasian friends and neighbors may not know what
you are dressed up as, but your APA friends will all marvel at how cool
and clever you are! Have fun and send us your photos!
Other Readings of Interest
|
