America And The Commercialization Of Halloween
Jul 6th, 2009 by Benedict Fisher
Halloween is probably the most commercialized celebration in America. When we talk about commercial potential, Halloween comes second to Christmas when it comes to popularity and marketability.
Commercial quality
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.
How much does that contribute to a local economy? The figure shifts from year to year, but at one time the Greenwich Village Halloween parade contributed over $60 million. Because of the commercial quality and contributions to the local economy, even religious groups are willing to clam up just to make sure that people continue to patronize the event.
America and Canada
Halloween festivities in Canada produce an outstanding estimate of 700 million dollars. Each family in the U.S. is estimated to spend an average of 45 dollars on Halloween products and festivities. And for those lucky high-salary people, the amount goes up.
The Halloween festivities generate around 6.8 billion dollars for the U.S. economy. Popular products for Halloween are:
- Candies
- Halloween Costumes
- Greeting Cards
- Party supplies
Taking It Easy
It’s a well-known fact that Halloween is that time of the year when people could let off a little pent-up steam. Often, it doesn’t matter anymore what the celebrations are really for. All that people know is that they can go to rave parties, drink, and party all night.
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.
Troubles
The annual Halloween celebration somehow conflicts with the conservative and religious principles. This is mainly due to two very sensitive and controversial issues:
- Homosexuality
- Alcohol use
The homosexuality part is due to the celebration of couples of the same sex (women and men alike). For the alcohol part, beer companies are very active during the Halloween. In all-night fraternity parties and raves, free flowing beer is encouraged.
More beer translates to more freedom: and the Halloween becomes the pinnacle of personal hedonism and liberty. Compared to the Yuletide season where people are encouraged to not drink and instead buy electronic goods, Halloween is the much-awaited free-for-all.
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.
