While Halloween is one of the world's oldest holidays started in the British Isles as a Pagan Celtic celebration called Samhein in the 5th century B.C., it is the modern American celebration that has taken root and is spreading to the rest of the world. Jack O'Lanterns, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pies, costumes, candy, and trick or treating, all began to implant themselves as American traditions in the 1920's. Halloween has been increasing in popularity in places such as France (Alowine) and Japan in recent years. It seems that college students and tourists alike who visited the U.S. during October experienced the thrill of Halloween decor and treats and wanted to bring some home with them.
All Hallow's Eve historically morphed into Hallowe'en, and then eventually came to America in the 1840's. The first American Halloween celebration was in Minnesota in 1921. Today, modern day American Halloween is spreading around the world faster than swine flu. No one is quite sure why the fascination is just taking hold in this 21st century, but what is certain about Halloween, is that it has grown into the second largest holiday in the United States in terms of retail sales. 2009 estimates that $4.75- $6 billion will be spent collectively on costumes, candy, decorations, cards, and pumpkins. The average American will spend approximately $56.31 this year on Halloween. Homes have fantastic displays of graveyard scenes decked out on their front yards. Horror night celebrations at theme parks go on the entire month of October across America.
Many communities at the end of the politically correct 1990's took Halloween and costumes out of schools, or white washed the celebration as a "Fall festival," so as not to have religious connotations. The fact is, Halloween in a non-religious, purely cultural American phenomenon which allows children an innocent form of play, and hence, most schools and communities have had the good sense to restore this American tradition in this century. There are no religious practices, devil worshipping, or evil going on, just children out on an escapade under light of the moon to collect free candy while dressed up in fantasy garb. The only thing truly frightening about Halloween are those religious fanatics who try to deem it a pagan holiday, which is merely a disguise for the people who are no fun or too cheap to buy Halloween candy for kids. How cool is it to ring a doorbell, say trick or treat to your neighbors from behind a ghouly mask, and get candy in return? Awesome. And, it keeps kids out of trouble for a couple of hours if they are safely supervised. Dressing up for fantasy on this night has gone far beyond the children as well.
Halloween has become a fabulous mental and physical escape for American adults. More coffee bars, organizations, clubs, and churches of all sects are arising every year with theme-filled drinks, parties and decorations for the takers. More than 80% of Americans under 35 will be purchasing Halloween costumes this year according to surveys, whether for themselves or their children. Even the "green group" or health conscious sectors are allowing their families to eat candy. If you are looking for healthier choices, look for forms of chocolate that are at least 70% cacao or above, otherwise, they contain a great deal of sugar. Cacao is a natural antioxidant that is rich in flavonoids and resveratrol. Avoid candy with chemical or artificial sweetners. Always chose dark chocolate over milk chocolate so that you get maximum antioxidant protection. Buy candy without genetically modified (GM) good ingredients such as "soy" often in the form of lecithin in chocolates. You can avoid GM foods ingredients by buying organic candy as there is no requirement by the FDA that GM foods be labeled as such so that you can avoid them in and of themselves. Many Americans are already aware of the evils of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) as a cheap sweetener, so look for cane sugar or molasses as your sweetener ingredient on pre-packaged items. Try to avoid trans fats and their artery blocking ways. Nuts are great sources of healthier oils and omega three fatty acids, therefore, packages of nuts, as well as organic raisins are nice treats to hand out.
And, if you just have to have traditional American chocolate choices just like you did when you were a kid, beware. I discovered something ghoulish last week: besides the fact that the number of bars in each package had been reduced sneakily over the last year in an effort to avoid price increases, I popped one of my favorite chocolates into my mouth all at once! Why is this ghoulish? Because it was indeed not such a "fun bar" any more due to its shrinking in size. So, the price of Halloween candy is up, the quantity is down and so is the size. But, hey let's forget about the economic connotations, it's Halloween on a Saturday night this year, and if you get dressed up and head to one of those parties, you are unlikely to notice. Happy Haunting!
Kimberly Wilcox is currently freelance writing about financial politics, as well as Healthcare policy, specifically, Chemical Injury and its medical & lifestyle consequences. She is a lifestyle coach to others with chemical injury, chronic fatigue, autism, Gulf War Syndrome & Fibromyalgia, as well as to professional athletes desiring peak performance without use of illegal PED's. She is an expert on Green Living and her new book will soon be published about the Green Life that she has been forced to live for the last decade.
