Like many members of suburban families with three or more children, it feels as if Costco is my secondary home. When my mom and I have some free time together, it’s usually spent there, searching for the newest semi-healthy snack that will eventually be left to rot in the recesses of our cabinets. This was a perfectly ordinary shopping trip in early August. Until I noticed the rows upon rows of Halloween decorations — now on sale!
Halloween seems to be getting closer and closer every year, but what truly is the point of Halloween? It just seems to be a cash-grab for the corporations who slap a couple pumpkins and skulls on their products. This year alone will set a record with 13.1 billion dollars spent on Halloween products!
Personally, Halloween is my favorite time of the year — it’s a time where I get to cosplay as my favorite TV show characters without being publicly judged, and it’s the only time of year I can get shooed off of people’s porches at 8 p.m. and get candy out of it! But the question of why these traditions exist has had me intrigued for a while.
Halloween’s traditions seem to be out of place for an American holiday: why do we dress up in costumes? Why do we carve pumpkins? What is the deal with bobbing for apples?
Luckily, people on the internet are just as obsessed with the holiday as I am.
The Library of Congress explains that the concept of Halloween comes from the Celtic peoples during the Middle Ages, who celebrated the fall harvest from the end of October to the beginning of November. The festival was called Samhain (SAM-win), and it featured people dressing up in demon-like costumes to ward off spirits who might possess them during this period of time. However, when the Romans conquered Britain and its surrounding land in 43 A.D., they made Nov. 1 the day to worship all Catholic saints. Yahoo, thanks Romans.
Samhain became relegated to Oct. 31., and the name was changed to All Hallow’s Eve. For the sake of everyone’s vocal chords, the name became condensed over time into Halloween. Now, due to Scottish and Irish immigrants and the diffusion of culture, people enjoy this spooky holiday with copious amounts of candy, colorful costumes and depictions of spirits of all kinds! Prospect in and of itself participates in Haunted Halloween, which allows younger kids to participate in fun activities in a safer environment!
Finn Burns, a senior and an avid Halloween fan, jumped at the chance to talk with me about our shared hyperfixation.
“I think I love [Halloween] because it’s the quintessential fall holiday and fall is my favorite season. It’s the perfect weather, not too hot, not too chilly, the changing of the trees and leaves falling … there’s a certain vibe and aesthetic to it that I just really love.” Burns says.
Times have certainly changed from Samhain to Halloween — my question is, how exactly have they? The short answer is American capitalism. During the 1970’s, with conflict at every American’s doorsteps, such as the Vietnam and Cold wars, consumers wanted to prepare for the worst… by spending their money on decorations early. Retailers started capitalizing off of this demand and started selling costumes of popular superheroes and characters from media.
To explain the individually wrapped candy, I’ve gotta go back to that eight grade social studies class with that one teacher everyone either loves or hates. President Nixon’s campaign against drugs is what caused an uproar of parents asking for an alternative to full-size candies because what if the candy had *cough cough* drugs *cough* on them! So those big-ass bags of small-ass candy are thanks to America’s 37th president. That was definitely not on my Halloween research bingo card.
Halloween is a fully commercialized holiday, with retailers projecting popular spending sprees on every commodity. Candy is, not surprisingly, the most popular purchase during Halloween — the latest NRF consumer survey predicts a total of $3.9 billion to be spent. I think I know now why we struggle with obesity rates.
Anyways, Halloween is and always will be my favorite holiday — one reason why is what modern interpretations of old traditions bring to it. The main reason is the candy … there, I said it. But truly, I think the actual point of Halloween is the time people get to spend together, from my mom and I laughing at skeletons in Costco to me getting together with friends and watching scary movies.
“[Halloween] has definitely changed from what it was … it became more commercial. I feel like other holidays still have the original point to it, Halloween’s has evolved way further than that. I think the Halloween we have now — even if it wasn’t what it was, I love what it has evolved into,” Burns says.
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