Halloween and trick o' treating is not exceptionally popular on St Croix. Yes, some festivities exist: a few costume parties, and trick o' treating at Sunny Isles shopping center/K-mart. This year the few events scheduled to take place last weekend were postponed due to Tropical Storm Noel. I've heard grumbling about Halloween and some locals adamantly opposed to the holiday. I'm not sure exactly why because St Croix heralds a ghost tradition: the jumby.
Jumbies (pronounced Joombie) are spirits. On some islands they can be good as well as evil spirits. Jumbies are found in the traditional scary place, the cemetery, but also in trees. Some island trees, especially those on the west end, certainly look dark and spooky. The lack of property development yields a lack of artificial light and with our position closer to the equator than the continental US, the dark comes much more quickly and year round. By 7 p.m. night arrives. High trade winds on a inky black night create a howl combined with insects and rain frogs make for eerie sounds. Jumbies dont' seem so far fetched.
I have a couple of obligatory bags of candy, though I doubt I receive any trick o' treaters. I may leave a mini candy bar or two for any wayward Jumbies.
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