Halloween is a great time of year to be in the United States. Winter hasn’t yet hit and children, teens and grown-ups alike dress up and celebrate the spooky tradition. But why is the holiday so popular in the States?
Early Origins
There are lots of conflicting ideas about how the All Hallow’s Eve tradition started. Many believe that it began with the ancient Celtic celebration of Samhain. This marked the end of the season and people would dress in animal costumes and light fires. Over time, this evolved into a Catholic tradition and became known as “All Hallows”.
Halloween Parties
Halloween was brought over to the United States from England. The traditions changed and people gathered to dress in costumes and tell scary stories. This is how the first Halloween parties were born.
Trick or Treat?
In the 1800s, the tradition of pulling pranks on Halloween was born. In the 1920s, Halloween candies were developed by candy shops and they were used to minimize pranking. People would give one of these treats to prevent being pranked and trick or treating was born.
Halloween Today
Today, Halloween is a huge tradition across the U.S. On average, $9 billion is spent each year and of this, $3.2 billion will be sent on costumes and $2.6 billion will be spent on candy.
How will you be spending your Halloween? Let us know in the comments below.
