Halloween Discussion Forums, Costumes, Horror!

I'm not posting here every day, but it's great. When I come in once a week there so many new posts.... Last year I posted in many Xmas forums, but they never had so many traffic. It seems to me, that Halloween for the major part of the people in USA is more important than Xmas. What do you think about?

Silvia

While Halloween has grown in popularity it still falls behind Christmas in significance and revenue. Halloween is a lot of fun to talk about cause it's mostly all a game, while Christmas holds a religious/social significance that ultimately has far more meaning, IMO.

It is in our home anyway.

I like mostly all the holidays, but I agree with Dr. Strange. Halloween is basically a giant party that everyone attends. It takes a very baisic human emotion, fear, and makes it fun. Who wouldn't love Halloween.

According to the National Retail Federation (2006), Halloween's $5 billion in retail sales in the U.S.A. place it 6th among holiday sales:

1. Winter holidays (Christmas): $457.4 billion
2. Mother's Day (2nd Sunday in May): $13.80 billion
3. Valentine's Day: $13.70 billion
4. Easter: $12.63 billion
5. Father's Day (3rd Sunday in June): $9.01 billion
6. Halloween: $5 billion

Haunted Horseman wrote:I like mostly all the holidays, but I agree with Dr. Strange. Halloween is basically a giant party that everyone attends. It takes a very baisic human emotion, fear, and makes it fun. Who wouldn't love Halloween.

Too true. Every culture shares some type of "death" observance that gives people a chance to confront mortality and offer respect to those who have passed. Unfortunately, in America that element of the holiday is all but forgotten. The Catholic Church in America still observes this time for paying respect to the dead, but for most I think Halloween is more dress up and party.

To get back to the original question, taking the country as a whole, Christmas is more important, again IMO.

Cadaverino wrote:According to the National Retail Federation (2006), Halloween's $5 billion in retail sales in the U.S.A. place it 6th among holiday sales:

1. Winter holidays (Christmas): $457.4 billion
2. Mother's Day (2nd Sunday in May): $13.80 billion
3. Valentine's Day: $13.70 billion
4. Easter: $12.63 billion
5. Father's Day (3rd Sunday in June): $9.01 billion
6. Halloween: $5 billion

Yeah i would imagine that Halloween doesnt bring in as much revenue, mainly because most boring people just buy a few bags of candy and maybe a pumkin or two and are set for the whole holiday. The other holidays listed above Halloween focus more on sales and giving gifts or presents. I can understand that Christmas is on top by a lot because most people go crazy and buy and buy and buy around the Xmas season. Halloween is more about just the pure fun and the spooky "feeling" of the night.

Although i do have to say i love Xmas ALMOST (only almost) as much i love Halloween!

I think the focus of Chrismas is somewhat lost on all the gift giving or being PC about "winter holidays". That's what more or less sours that holiday for me. If Christmas were more centered around families, then I'd probably enjoy it more.

I like Halloween because there's really no limit to what you CAN do with it-- you can be a good guy or a bad guy; you can choose to pass out candy or choose not to pass out candy... And each generation of kids still understands the fundamentals of the holiday whether you explain it or not. Plus interpretation of what the holiday means vaires, which opens Halloween up to new ideas and different traditions... you don't really get that artistic liscense with Christmas or other "winter holidays".

Gosh...I was complaining that Halloween was different and had changed for the worse. But maybe it's really more the same than I thought...

I forgot to mention that the National Retail Federation also says that Halloween is the second-biggest decorating holiday of the year, after Christmas. 67.0 percent of consumers plan to purchase Halloween décor and almost half (48.6%) plan to decorate their home or yard.

More here.

Well if you ask me I think it is more important but the majority of people I suppose see it as halfway down the list. That ranking of #6 really surprises me. I would have guessed maybe 2nd or 3rd. But how in the world to we come after easter???

Christmas here where I live Is far more Significant then Halloween. Seeing how I live in a highly Religious area & Christmas holding the huge Religious element that it does, well it seems to take over everything. Personally I have grown to not really care for xmas at all anymore as it's so centred around Spending outragous amounts of money on Material goods, and less on spending quality time with Friends and family and far less time showing love and peace to all of mankind such as giving to those less fortunate or doing some sort of charity kindness. Also, for "me personally" Halloween has become a holiday that represents more qualities of giving and spreading cheer "even if it is a spooky kind of cheer" it just seems to have a greater element of spreading kindness and generousity.

Halloween for me brings a sense of Coziness, a time to share what you have with others, especally those less fortunate, a time to apprecaite the changing of the seasons, to apprecaite Mother Earth, especally with what we put her through. Halloween is a soothing and relaxing time, a time to unwind. Really I could go on forever with the many good qualities the Fall and Halloween season brings.
I also agree with Haunted Horseman that Halloween takes a very basic human emotion "fear" and makes it fun.
And I like what jadewik said about "halloween is open to new ideas and different traditions and different interpreations of what it means"
I do wish that there were more celebrations surrounding the whole aspect of showing respect and celebration for those who have passed on. Like El Dia de los Muertos ( The Day of the Dead) the Mexican celebration to celebrate, remember and honor those who have departed. I've always loved that culture for the way they celebrate the departing of loved ones, I think its truly a beautiful Holiday and would love to attend it sometime, I wish we did something like that here.