Why America Loves Halloween More Than the UK

America loves Halloween. People deck their houses and lawns with the spookiest decorations, and all their alter egos come out to play. Compared to other cultures, like the UK, it seems the USA loves this spooky holiday more.

Philip Hoare says this cultural difference regarding Halloween is more profound than we think. “The festival was brought to America by Irish immigrants for whom the rites of Samhain marked a thinning of the membrane between worlds of the living and the dead. That meaning was lost in translation in the 20th century” (The Guardian, 2017) (1). Today, the meaning of Halloween in the US is mostly shrouded in silly costumes and served with candy.

One reason Halloween did not take hold in the UK was “its proximity to our own pyromaniacal Bonfire Night, with its anti-Catholic echoes of martyrs burned at the stake,” Hoare explains. The Brits would like to believe they have since ”conquered the darkness, both actual and metaphorical, that Halloween commemorated.”

Halloween is sanitized in a culture where the reality of death is largely avoided. Under the Californian sun, Hollywood tempers those heavier themes with celebratory pumpkins and turns nightmares into comic books.

Halloween Spending Hits a Record High in 2024

The National Retail Federation (NRF) conducts an annual Halloween consumer survey by Prosper Insights & Analytics, and this year’s figures reveal that total projected Halloween spending in 2024 is expected to reach as high as $11.6 billion, with 72% planning to celebrate Halloween (2).

Breaking down these billions, it is projected that 3.8 billion will be spent on Halloween costumes, 3.8 billion will be spent on sprucing up spaces with Halloween decorations, 3.5 billion will be spent on candy, and 0.5 billion will be spent on Halloween greeting cards.

According to Will Granados, Senior Manager and Media Relations officer at NRF, the preps started earlier this year, too, with 47% of survey participants admitting to shopping for their Halloween way before October (3). This figure is up from 37% five years ago and compares with just 32% in 2014. This is a substantial difference, meaning we can expect the Halloween fanfare to be extraordinary this year.

Of course, retailers have been eager to join the hype and were prepared to meet the early demands by offering shoppers all the holiday essentials to make this year’s celebrations memorable.

Prosper Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said that interest in early Halloween shopping is dominated by the 25-34 age group, so the Millennials are taking the lead and kicking off their shopping way before October. Rist noted that “their love of the holiday is a key factor in this trend, with nearly half of this segment sharing that they plan to shop early because Halloween is their favorite holiday.”

The Most Searched Halloween Costumes of the Year

Google analyzes Halloween searches yearly in a report called Freightgeist 2024 (4). In this report, they examine all things Halloween and examine what people look for regarding the ghastly holiday.

Based on Google searches, we’re expecting to see this cast of ghouls, villains, and cute animations come to life on the Halloween streets. We’re sure the social feeds will showcase many trick-or-treaters don their pick of this year’s costumes. And we can’t wait to determine who will wear them best.

Shrunken Head from Beetlejuice takes the top spot. Delores, also from Beetlejuice, is among the top five most searched costumes. This follows the cinematic re-release of the 1988 classic Beetlejuice.

Some other top searches include the smiling creature Catnap, the Australian breakdancer Raygun, the jester-style Pomni, Red from “Descendants,” cutesy singer Sabrina Carpenter, Deadpool from the “Deadpool and Wolverine” movie, a Chipotle Burrito, and of course, the colorful cast of “Inside Out,” including Envy, Anger, Disgust, and Anxiety.

References

1. Philip Hoare. “Why doesn’t Britain go as wild for Halloween as America?” The Guardian, October 31, 2017. | https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/31/why-britain-halloween-america-fall
2. National Retail Federation. “Retail Holiday and Seasonal Trends: Halloween.” NRF, 2024. | https://nrf.com/research-insights/holiday-data-and-trends/halloween
3. Will Granados. “Nearly Half of Halloween Shoppers to Start Purchasing Items Before October.” NRF, September 19, 2024. | https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nearly-half-halloween-shoppers-start-purchasing-items-october
4. Google. “Trending Costumes.” Fresihhgeist, 2024. | https://frightgeist.withgoogle.com/costumes