How did Halloween get to be so popular worldwide?

[Cainkane1]

Some weeks ago a Chinese war vessel was following some American ships on manoeuvres. The Chinese Captain started talking to the American Captain and the friendly conversation turned into a friendly conversation about what their kids were going to dress up as on Halloween. I was unaware that the holiday was celebrated in China although I was aware that Chinese Americans loved that day.

Jewish kids love Halloween. Mexican kids love Halloween, white and black children love this day.

Its not even that Irish of a day anymore.

The Irish must know how to party because Saint Patricks day is a pretty big deal too.

 

[Polaris]

Probably as simple as because it's fun.

 

[JPK]

Probably as simple as because it's fun.

Exactly this.

 

[Abooga]

Some weeks ago a Chinese war vessel was following some American ships on manoeuvres. The Chinese Captain started talking to the American Captain and the friendly conversation turned into a friendly conversation about what their kids were going to dress up as on Halloween. I was unaware that the holiday was celebrated in China although I was aware that Chinese Americans loved that day.

Jewish kids love Halloween. Mexican kids love Halloween, white and black children love this day.

Its not even that Irish of a day anymore.

The Irish must know how to party because Saint Patricks day is a pretty big deal too.

Over here in Spain it used to be a gloomy religious celebration, of rememberance of dead family members or some such thing. Now american style Halloween is becoming more and more popular, even trick-or-teating, a very recent addition. I think it´s because it´s fun, colourful... and it appears in so many films... Some people hate it for being some "american cultural imperialist import" or whatever. I think that´s a stupid attitude. All culture is imported from somewhere. If it weren´t we´d still be living in caves. Even cavemen must have imported and exported their cavepainting styles.

 

[HenryLee]

You get to dress up in costumes and go door to door playfully extorting candy. How could this have possibly caught on?

The real answer? Mass media or cultural colonialism if you prefer.

 

[Ron Swanson]

Candy??

 

[Denver]

Probably doesn't hurt that someone's making a profit with it.

 

[Monza]

It's also an excuse for women to wear sexy costumes. It seems almost all women's Halloween costumes are described as "sexy [insert occupation here]".

 

[Max_mang]

When I was a kid (in the US in the 1970's) I don't recall adults celebrating Halloween. It seems like my generation was the first one to grow up and not let go of it. Cosplay is a pretty big thing now as well, but I can't say if there's really a connection or not.

 

[Magrat]

I'm also going with, it is fun,

As far as women wanting to dress up sexy, if I wanted to, I would whenever. I make my Halloween costumes.

 

[Shalamar]

Love Halloween! I decorate the exterior of the house. Graveyard, zombies, giant spider.
I also give out full sized chocolate bars to entice the little ones that are frightened, or anyone wearing a Star Wars costume.

And after all that, I get to have Birthday cake!

 

[Babbylonian]

Love Halloween! I decorate the exterior of the house. Graveyard, zombies, giant spider.

Spooky!

I also give out full sized chocolate bars to entice the little ones that are frightened...

Creepy!

 

[Jrrarglblarg]

My wife makes costumes for the kids because it gives her an excuse to sew, but doesn't require the level of fit and finish "real" of garments. It's fun. I make props to go with costumes.

As for international attention on the holiday, blame marketing by candy companies, multinational conglomerates all, looking to expand market opportunity.

Or, blame the Illuminati for continuing the Globalization of culture to bring us to the One World we'll need to be to either fight the Aliens or meet their criteria to join the Galactic market, depending on who breaks the quarantine on Earth first.

 

[Shalamar]

Spooky!

Creepy!

Fog Machines, spooky lights, scary noises... The little ones have been known to stand at the end of my driveway and refuse to come any closer. The parents laugh as I hold out a full size chocolate bar. Sometimes that's enough for the little ones to come to the door.

I LOVE Halloween. Favorite day of the entire year.

 

[alfaniner]

Candy??

In case someone is unfamiliar with the tradition (at least in the U.S.), it's an evening where kids go door-to-door in the neighborhood, knock or ring, and say "Trick or treat!" The idea being a bit of extortion -- "Give us some candy or we'll soap your windows", or worse.

 

[luchog]

Fun, plain and simple. It's an excuse to dress up and play.

 

[Polaris]

In case someone is unfamiliar with the tradition (at least in the U.S.), it's an evening where kids go door-to-door in the neighborhood, knock or ring, and say "Trick or treat!" The idea being a bit of extortion -- "Give us some candy or we'll soap your windows", or worse.

I go the extra mile, but avoiding this is a small part of it (I've never heard of anybody actually being retaliated against in this way - toilet paperings were done, but never on Halloween). I'll get the regular size candy bars, good ones like Snickers Almond and Twix, instead of those "fun sized" insults handed out by cheap-asses. That way I have some candy around for myself if nobody shows.

I only got to do a real trick-or-treating once as a kid, because it was around that time that the "razorblades in apples" BS was going around, and also because we moved to a rural area without real neighborhoods - though we did have a faux version of it at the local American Legion. So I try to make it a good experience to keep up the tradition I really only barely got to enjoy.

 

[Magrat]

I miss living on military bases on Halloween. Entire blocks would be done up, every house doing music and fog machines. Full sized coffins with somebody's dad hiding inside. Loads and loads of candy. All us adults getting drunk after the kids sugar crashed.

 

[Architect]

Its not even that Irish of a day anymore.

The Irish must know how to party because Saint Patricks day is a pretty big deal too.

Halloween is a Celtic, not exclusively Irish, festival.

 

[Arcade22]

American popular culture is the main reason. There's a huge amount of it and much of it is good compared to the often low quality domestic TV-shows, movies and music. Combine that with how widely it's disseminated throughout the world it's not hard to see why so many different peoples take it up.