America And The Commercialization Of Halloween

by Benedict Fisher

Halloween may be one of the most commercialized celebrations in the United States. When we talk about commercial potential, Halloween is next only to Christmas in terms of popularity and market viability.

Commercial Contribution

Halloween is well-liked by children and adults. There is also a broad assortment of adult activities for Halloween. Ever since a columnist of New York Times declared the world flat, international parades such as The Greenwich Village Halloween parade draws more than one million individuals per year.

Halloween not only gives an excuse for people to wear silly outfits and entertain people, but it also helps the local economy a lot. The Greenwich Village Halloween parade even contributes as much as 60 million dollars in one year. Because of its contribution to the local economy, even religious societies are willing to help just to keep the holiday as big as it is.

America and Canada

In Canada, the Halloween festivities have been estimated to produce about $700 million. In the United States, it has been estimated that each American family spends about $45 or even more for Halloween-related products and events. For wealthier twenty-something employees, the figure becomes bigger.

The total amount of the money that the U.S. produces during Halloween is an incredible 6.8 billion dollars. Americans tend to spend a lot on Halloween products like:

- Candy

- Halloween Costumes

- Cards

- Party Supplies

Stress relief

Everybody knows that you can get a free pass to go crazy on Halloween. It's the time of year wherein you can let your hair down. Usually, the reason for the celebrations doesn't really matter. All that matters to most people is the thought that they can go out with friends, party, drink and have a good time.

In the final analysis, it seems that Halloween was able to live this long because of the adult appropriation of the celebration. Without the movement of corporatist entities, the Celebration would have probably died a very long time ago. With all the persecution, it appears that the only way for this ancient-rooted celebration is to be appropriated to something less offensive and more pleasurable for everyone.

Problems

What makes the adult celebration of Halloween a sore point for the conservative, religious Right? To an extent, two factors are very prominent with the religious Right:

- Homosexuality

- Alcohol use

Homosexuality (which includes men and women) is very rampant during Halloween since everybody feels it's the time of year when you can do anything you want and express yourself freely. Alcohol use on the other hand is a very big issue, since beer and hard liquor companies take advantage of the festivities to promote their products. Most Halloween parties are "all nighters" and booze is free-flowing.

When people are intoxicated, they lose their inhibitions. This means that rational thinking goes out of the door. It is a fact that Halloween parties are not very wholesome. Halloween seems to be the complete opposite of the Christmas season.

Halloween is most popular in America, but that does not mean other countries do not celebrate it. More and more countries are starting to have bigger festivities and celebrations during the Halloween season. It's not unusual for other countries to sell Halloween-themed toys and costumes.

For instance, in the U.K., Halloween is experiencing a renewed popularity. They usually celebrate it by wearing scary masks and lighting bonfires.

About the Author:

Costume Finder is a leading supplier of Halloween fancy dress costumes including Zombie Costumes, Vampire Costumes, and Devil Costumes.