Candy and costumes dominate the UW-Madison campus when Halloween arrives. Students leave Walgreens carrying candy bags the size of pillowcases and insist that their parties be ""costumes-only."" Such things raise the question of why this holiday came to be centered on candy and dressing up.
Americans will spend approximately $4.75 billion on Halloween this year, according to a September 2009 survey by the National Retail Federation. The study—the Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey—found that on average, each consumer this fall will spend approximately $17.99 on candy and $20.75 on costumes.
Halloween originated in the Celtic festival, Samhain, during which the boundaries between the living and the dead dissolved, says UW-Milwaukee anthropology professor Bettina Arnold. On Halloween, the graves of the dead open, and spirits and humans can pass back and forth between the supernatural world and the world of the living.
But candy companies and modern advertising have conspired to change the original meaning and customs of Halloween.
Halloween now serves ""a business which has resources,"" and has become ""a social phenomenon,"" said UW-Madison professor of marketing research Neeraj Arora. ""Kids are into candy because of that,"" and ""there are social welfare implications in what companies do.""
The mass advertising for candy ""is pretty typical for America,"" said UW-Madison sophomore Melissa Balch. ""I think it's bad on a lot of levels, for nutritional and general celebratory reasons.""
Candy companies gear their campaigns to maximize profit and Arora supports companies doing what is best for them.
""They do what they do to maximize their bottom line, and if that takes more candy then that's what they're supposed to do,"" Arora said.
UW-Madison associate professor of marketing Joann Peck said candy companies have more affected the type of candy bought on Halloween than the traditions of Halloween itself.
""Candy companies do holiday promotions [because] most of the candy sales in the U.S. are during Halloween,"" Peck said. ""For chocolate, [sales are] bigger than Valentine's Day. So they spend a lot of money advertising those brands because they know that's when most of the sales for the year will be.""
Larger candy companies like Hershey's thrive during the Halloween season.
""People splurge at Halloween,"" Peck said. ""They know the brand names, and they had them as kids, so they treat themselves at Halloween. A lot of private labels are increasing, but not in Halloween candy.""
But there are things aside from advertisers contributing to the commercialism of Halloween.
""Halloween. What's the first thought that comes into your head? Candy. If there's one part that needs to take a stand a little more, it is parents needing to educate their kids that...Halloween is not about candy,"" Arora said. ""[Candy] is a very small piece of the whole rationale for having something like that.""
Arora said candy companies should alter their advertising, but not necessarily cut down on advertising.
""There's a responsible way to conduct business, and the one thing perhaps we could do better as businesses is probably be a bit more responsible about the ingredients that go into the candy,"" Arora said, adding that children cannot rationally evaluate a candy commercial to discriminate between the good and bad things about the product. ""Kids don't quite see that, they will latch onto the feel-good aspect of that behavior.""
Peck said candy companies are making an effort to conduct business in a way that is healthier for the consumer.
""One thing the candy manufacturers are doing is using smaller packaging,"" Peck said. ""If you think of the ‘200 calorie packs,' [they are] not exactly healthy, but it makes people aware of how much they're eating."" In addition to portion control, Peck said candy companies are also making nutritional information more available for consumers.
Costume sales also play a role in commercializing Halloween. College-age consumers tend to go overboard on spending for costumes more than the general population. On average, they spend $29.26 per person each year, according to the NSF survey. College students are twice as likely to celebrate Halloween by dressing in a costume than by handing out candy.
Halloween has been transformed from a spiritual tradition into a holiday of commercialism, according to Balch.
""Children dressed in scary costumes, haunted houses—I don't see anything wrong in it,"" she said. ""Maybe it's sort of a corruption of the holiday but I don't really see it as a bad thing.""
UW-Madison students typically celebrate Halloween by dressing in costumes and attending Halloween parties. For them, it is hardly a holiday to commemorate the dead.
""It's more about partying and drinking and not really celebrating Halloween, but having an excuse for a party,"" UW-Madison fifth-year senior said. ""I don't think they're really dropping the tradition, I think they're just focusing more on parties and hanging out with people their age,"" adding that the concept of Halloween changes with age.
For children, Halloween is centered on trick-or-treating.
According to Arnold, some scholars believe that trick-or-treating originates from Samhain. Historically on Samhain, people in Wales would leave food outside the door to pacify the dead and leave the doors unlocked for dead relatives to revisit.
Geigler said she trick-or-treated until she went to college, adding that she did not think there was an age limit on that tradition.
""My costumes were more girly things, like princesses—Dorothy from ‘The Wizard of Oz,'"" Geigler said.
But Geigler's trick-or-treating experience shows how American customs have further altered the traditional idea of Halloween as a ceremony to recognize the dead.
""I come from a Christian family, and we weren't allowed to celebrate Halloween,"" said Geigler. ""We could dress up in normal costumes, but not goblins and ghosts. [My mom] didn't want us to celebrate anything doing with evil spirits.""
Despite the influence from candy companies and costume stores, the traditions of Halloween still serve as a foundation for what is now mainstream U.S. holiday.
""I think business is doing what they're supposed to be doing and it's a happy time of the year,"" Arora said. ""Kids and parents can go crazy one time of the year and celebrate Halloween... as long as we don't forget the real meaning of it.""
