I didn’t see any George Bush masks, though

Before the 1999 war, Halloween – at least this is what I’m told – was not a big Kosovar holiday. You wouldn’t have known that from what I saw tonight.

I had a date with my friend Fatmir to watch the Barcelona-Chelsea football match, a grudge pairing if ever that term applied, at one of Pristina’s most popular bars, Papillon . The place is one of those smoke-filled spots with a smallish-size big-screen TV placed high on the wall so that everyone can see (even if you can’t hear over the obligatory pop tunes).

A Texas license plate adorns one wall, and on another a sign says, “In God we trust – all others pay cash.” And as we sat there, I drinking Peja beer, Fatmir downing Heinekens, Fatmir’s team, Chelsea, tied the match in the fourth minute of extra time, 2-2, thereby knocking Barcelona out of contention.

High fives all around.

But the real surprise of the evening involved the crowds of children of all ages whom I ran into on the way to Papillon. They were running all through the center of Pristina, their faces painted, acting rowdy, throwing fire crackers and trick-of-treating the way we used to in America before parents started getting careful, etc., etc.

I saw witches, werewolves, every kind of monster you can imagine, zombies, ghosts and superheroes. One kid even was wearing a Spiderman outfit . The cutest were the very small ones, wearing pumpkin masks as proud as if they were sporting medals, walking hand in hand with their parents, having fun just being a part of the festivities.

Seems not everything that America has exported has spoiled the world. But then we already knew that. Especially in Kosovo, America can do no wrong.

Below: The kids in Pristina, Kosovo, trick-or-treated on Halloween just like any kids across America.