One of biggest traditions for DC college students is trick-or-treating on Embassy Row. On Halloween day, from 1:30PM to 4:00PM, many of the embassies on Massachusetts Ave opened their doors and shared candy with trick-or-treaters.
Since hearing about this tradition at Eagle Summit, I’ve been planning to try it out. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go. My friends and I took the Red Line to Dupont Circle, and from there began our walk down Massachusetts Ave.
Within just a few minutes, we found dozens of other trick-or-treaters. After talking with other AU students, we quickly learned that the best strategy was to try any embassy. We had seen a map online, pointing out specific embassies that were guaranteed to participate, but it wasn’t entirely accurate.
Most of the embassies we visited gave out traditional American Halloween candy, such as Reese’s, Snickers, and Tootsie Pops. Some, however, gave out treats that were more traditional for their own countries. One building that was an extension of the Mexican Embassy gave out Mexican lollipops. The Korean cultural center gave out rice candies, and the Guatemalan Embassy gave out pins with some bird figurines attached.
My favorite part of the day was getting to visit the Turkish Embassy. Most embassies handed out candy at the door, but the Turkish Embassy invited its trick-or-treaters inside. We had the opportunity to look at art currently on display, and eat Turkish Delight, a traditional Turkish sweet.
One of the only downsides to trick-or-treating on Embassy Row was that many of the embassies weren’t participating in the festivities. Most didn’t have any signs or way of knowing, so we spent a decent amount of time knocking on embassy doors only to find out they weren’t partaking in the trick-or-treating. However, we still successfully trick-or-treated at 21 different embassies!
Overall, getting to trick-or-treat on Embassy Row was a great way to celebrate Halloween. I would highly recommend it for any college student in the DC-area: it was a great start to Halloweekend, and a nice alternative to going out to parties or clubs.
All images are author’s own.