The Commercialization of Halloween

The Good Old Days

Halloween is not what it used to be. Gone are the days of homemade costumes for trick-or-treating. No more recycled bedsheets becoming ghosts. No more worn-out clothes morphing into hobo outfits. Costumes come from Walmart or Target; homemade is way uncool.

Door to door trick-or-treating is becoming too dangerous. Very risky to run around the neighborhood indiscriminately ringing doorbells for treats; these days you never know what you'll find. "Neighborhoods have become strangerhoods", as preservationist Frank Strassler said.

The Americanization of Halloween

But instead of mourning the passing of the "old" Halloween, let's rejoice in the new, improved commercial Halloween. Halloween is second only to Christmas in terms of retail sales. Americans have turned Halloween into a booming multimillion dollar industry.

A few facts:

• In 1999, $800 million was spent on Halloween candy, according to American Express.
• The average consumer spends $98 for Halloween, including $30 on candy and $20 on costumes.
• Amusement parks, which generally close on Labor Day, reopen for Halloween, luring customers with costume parades, spooky rides and haunted houses.
• 83% of parents have their children participating in Halloween activities.
• Rice Krispies produces orange and black cereal for the holiday, and Oreos have an orange cream filling.

And not to overlook the importance of all those Baby Boomers reliving their youth:

• Adults buy enough Coors beer for Halloween parties to increase seasonal sales by 10%.
• 65% of adults participate in some kind of Halloween activity. It's an excuse for a grownup to dress up and play make-believe.

We Americans have done our patriotic duty by turning Halloween into a real moneymaker in the true spirit of capitalism.

Sources:

Feldman, Ellen. "Halloween.American HeritageOctober 2001, vol52, no7.(http://www.americanheritage.com)

Rodenburg, Amy. "Professor: Commercialism Seeping into Holidays." The Daily Illini Online October 11 2000(http://www.thedailyillini.com)

Stassler, Frank. Posted e-mail. October 13,1996(www.samizdat.com/hallow.html)

Wawrzeniak, Jason. "On Topical Issues."The Duqesne Times October 30 2000(http://www2.duq.edu/times)