Comments on: Hallowe’en economics

By: Tim Worstall

Tim Worstall — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 18:24:24 +0000

Britblog Roundup #90…

Here we go again with the 90 th edition of those posts that you nominate, the ones you think we all ought to see. Apologies for the late posting, it was indeed necessary to see our boys put to the…

By: Chris Williams

Chris Williams — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 14:48:58 +0000

Here’s another: in the season of autumn religious festivals that dominate the curriculum at ‘inner-city’ primary schools (Harvest Festival, Eid, Diwali), Hallowe’en slots right in. “This week we have been thinking about Hallowe’en” said my boy to me. Perhaps it’s bunged in by teachers with a sense of humour, to help show the rest of the godbothering up.

By: Nosemonkey

Nosemonkey — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 23:18:57 +0000

Janey may be on to something – 1982/3 brought Spielberg’s ET, not only one of the most successful and influential children’s films of all time, but also with a prominent Halloween sequence – possibly ingraining the idea that 31st October was somehow special into the minds of a generation of children, many of whom are now of an age to have become parents within the last five years or so.

A vague theory, at least. Blame Spielberg. Or Lucas – either’s good.

By: Phil E

Phil E — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:50:17 +0000

An odd bump in the curve from sunny south Manchester. Last year we had about six parties of ghoulishly-clad teenagers ringing the bell – must have been 25-30 of them in all – and our own kids came home with a sizeable haul. This year the bell went twice, and one of those was a group of kids who weren’t even wearing black. (They had their faces painted, to be fair.) As for our kids, they said that some houses weren’t answering the door, and several of those that did gave them money. Maybe the British version fo the US Halloween isn’t going to take off after all?

By: Macko

Macko — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 20:44:50 +0000

Woolworths and the rest of the corporate retail chain mafia that want to make us spend more and more of our money so we get more and more in debt

they can go and drown…they and their stupid franchises.

By: Monjo

Monjo — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 12:12:23 +0000

The rise of Halloween has been steady in this country. But the growth shown owes a lot to mathematics and that any phenomenon (or new technology) will have a basic curved-growth (with a brief period of exponential growth). if we compared the growth of Halloween sales with say the take-up of the Internet, Broadband or mobile phones the general pattern will be the same – though the shape of the “S” will be different.

The question is “Why now?”. The obvious explanation is that 2001 marked the beginning of a new era. A new Century, a new Millennium. Perhaps it kicked off in 2001 as a backlash to Islamic terror. Perhaps it was just chance. Trick or treating (is some places they call it Trick and treating) has been around in the UK for a long-time now. I suppose it got going in the 1980s. Perhaps we can blame Thatcher materialism? However, costumes used to be home-made.

The 1990s saw a massive growth in convenience culture. Shop-bought Halloween costumes are perfect for a generation of women who were not taught sewing at school and can’t make costumes for their children. It is also perfect for working mothers who simply don’t have the time or energy to make costumes. Ironically, making costumes with your children would be an excellent way to spend quality time. Instead, they’ll sit and watch US TV together which will only further fuel the need to dress their children up as witches and warlocks.

The late 1990s/early 2000s have seen an explosion in Chinese exports. And so the puzzle doesn’t seem so complex.

By: Janey

Janey — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 08:46:28 +0000

Interestingly, the shock may have happened a generation ago. This could be the first generation of parents who grew up with satellite television, and the concomitant large increase in watching US children’s programmes with the US Halloween culture firmly embedded.