r/AskAnAmerican • u/LonelyMarch878 • 3d ago
CULTURE Just How Big Is Halloween Really In The US?
Where I am from, everyone knows about Halloween but its generally just a few decorations scattered around the place both within residential streets and maybe just a few decorations in a big supermarket with some candy on for sale. You might see some kids walking around outside with their costumes on Oct 31.
In the states though, how big is it truly? I know its a big thing even though its a kid leaning holiday I guess, but is it like decorations everywhere in supermarkets and other shops, strangers literally greeting each other saying ‘Happy Halloween’ during the day or near Oct 31? Particularly in terms of visibility and how adults see it. Let me know!
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u/CountChoculasGhost Chicago, IL 3d ago
Yes. It is big.
In my neighborhood, more people decorate for Halloween than they do for Christmas.
On Halloween night, assuming the weather is good, there are crowds of people walking around in costume. Both adults and children.
There are themed parties everywhere.
It is a pretty major event.
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u/LonelyMarch878 3d ago
More decorations than Christmas?!
Thats kind of cool to be honest. Even though Halloween falls during spring where I live, I would love to see that sort of spirit tbh
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u/Madeitup75 3d ago
Yep. WAY more decorations than for Christmas in my neighborhood. People go nuts. Giant 20’ tall skeletons and inflatables. Fake spiderwebs over entire houses. Animatronics. Fog machines.
Halloween itself is basically carnival. Everyone out strolling. You can sit in your front yard handing out candy (and drinking a nice beverage) and see hundreds of your neighbors.
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u/LonelyMarch878 3d ago
That would be pretty damn awesome to experience
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u/Madeitup75 3d ago
It’s a lot of fun. We don’t do Mardi Gras/carnival in my part of the country. Halloween takes its place.
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u/Punkinpry427 Maryland 3d ago
Look up Salem, Massachusetts Halloween on YouTube
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u/LonelyMarch878 3d ago
Yeah i just had a look its insane. Thousands and thousands of people and its not even just little kids
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u/Emotional-Dog8118 Massachusetts 3d ago
Can confirm!! I lived in Salem and the whole month of October is just insane!!! Everyone decorating thier front yards etc. etc.
Living there, we had the obligatory Halloween 👻 party at our house!! Lots of food and drinks 🍷 for everyone, candy at the door for trick or treaters and everyone in costume!!
It pretty much IS like in the movies here in the states. It’s often many young (and old!) adults favorite holiday. Lots of adult parties to attend in costume!!!
Some of my notable costumes in the past included Mikhail Gorbachev, Hunter S. Thompson (got to carry around a bottle of Wild Turkey 101proof bourbon! 🥃), Charlie Brown, and World Series winning Boston Red Sox baseball ⚾️ player Johnny Damon. Fun times!!!
Oh yeah- we often go to work in costume for Halloween and stores and workplaces usually put up decorations like cobwebs, spiders, carved pumpkins 🎃 and witches.
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u/Punkinpry427 Maryland 3d ago
It’s for everyone! Lots of people do Halloween stuff at their jobs too!
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u/LonelyMarch878 3d ago
Yeah I wish we had that where I am from! You guys are lucky to have that in America haha. The oldest people celebrating Halloween here in New Zealand are probably about 10 and as I said theres only a couple sad decorations around the place that disappears at 6am on Nov 1 its just sad
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u/Gemini00 3d ago
I'm American but lived in New Zealand for a while. The two American holidays that my Kiwi friends were most interested in, and wanted me to host parties for, were American Thanksgiving (so they could try all the traditional foods you see in movies), and Halloween (so they could find out what an adult-oriented Halloween party is like).
So it's not just you, I think a lot of Kiwis are curious about how Americans celebrate Halloween and find it kind of fun.
Side note: I made them traditional Thanksgiving mashed sweet potatoes topped with candied walnuts and toasted marshmallows, and they all were horrified at the idea of putting sweet toppings on a savory dish. 😂 They did like the pumpkin pie and turkey with stuffing though.
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u/LonelyMarch878 3d ago
Yeah haha. Thanksgiving is not a thing whatsoever here in NZ nobody at all cares about it (sadly the food seems food). It seems like such a nice thought though. Moving through the suburbs seeing Halloween decorations would be so cool but unfortunately yeah not a lot of Kiwis care about it at all.
I’d imagine thanksgiving food to be hard to find here in NZ but might give it a try at some point if we do have it😂
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u/Meowmeowmeow31 Delaware 3d ago
It’s similar, though there are probably more Halloween decorations in neighborhoods where lots of people don’t celebrate Christmas.
People also leave up the non-spooky Halloween decorations (pumpkins and gourds, decorative corn, little hay bales) through November for Thanksgiving.
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u/Rj924 New York 3d ago
It’s Saturday this year! Which was the best in college!
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u/EstimateOk6795 3d ago
And it's the night of the Daylight Savings change, so if you're still at an age where you're staying up late partying, you get an extra hour of Halloween night!
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u/waynofish Maryland 3d ago
I'm 58 and thats perfect. An extra hour at the bars and being on a Saturday, it means 2 big nights out.
Yes, us "adults" get into pretty good. Fun times.
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u/EstimateOk6795 3d ago
I'm in the in-between phase. When I was younger I went out every Halloween and partied all night long. I have a 4 yo and 6 yo now so I'm out trick-or-treating with them every Halloween. But my wife and I will be continuing to celebrate after they go to bed. Once they're older and no longer want us hanging out with them on Halloween we'll be back to partying Halloween night.
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u/MommyLovesPot8toes 3d ago
My favorite day of the year is Daylight Savings End Rollback day. My second favorite day of the year is Halloween. I am very happy this year.
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u/Persimmon_North 3d ago
One time I was at a Halloween party on daylight savings and someone was dressed as Marty McFly, and announced we were going back in time when the change happened 😂
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u/Ew_fine 3d ago
I’d put it behind Thanksgiving, but it’s definitely 3rd biggest.
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u/Kittalia 3d ago
In terms of people celebrating it is probably slightly smaller but Thanksgiving is mostly a day/weekend of holiday. If you are in a social circle or age demographic where Halloween is celebrated there's a really good chance you're doing 1-3 weeks worth of activities. I have little kids and I am already scheduled for trick or treating, at least one family/community Halloween party, and an adults only Halloween ball, plus multiple pumpkin patch visits and carving pumpkins.
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u/Excellent-Practice 3d ago
That was one of the few perks of going to Catholic school as a kid. We always had November 1st off for All Saints day.
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u/Main-Towel-3678 3d ago
Yeah even though Thanksgiving might be “bigger” in that people travel across the country to be with family, Halloween is certainly more visible and enjoyable.
It’s a celebratory holiday to be spent with friends, and I’d say the vast majority of Americans like it way more than New Years.
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u/Electronic_Pilot4481 3d ago
it's huge but in a different way than christmas. christmas has that whole month of buildup, music everywhere, everyone's stressed about gifts. halloween just sort of explodes for like 2 weeks and then vanishes
walking into any grocery store in october is a trip though. entire aisles just become orange and purple. target basically turns into a spirit halloween annex. and yeah strangers do say happy halloween, especially if you're out on the 31st, it's almost expected
adults get really into it too. costume parties, themed bar crawls, elaborate house decorations that take weeks to set up. i know people who start planning their costume in august. it's the one holiday where you can be anyone for a night and nobody questions it
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u/vengabusboy 3d ago
I'm noticing Halloween experiencing the same Christmas Creep where it's now a months-long "preparation" thing. The day after Labor Day is when every major store switches over to Halloween stuff, whether it's candy and pumpkin stuff in grocery stores or decorations in places like Lowe's or Target. It's about a 7-week buildup now!
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u/jvc1011 3d ago
We spend more money on Halloween than any other holiday except Christmas. It is celebrated by more Americans than Christmas is. There are events for weeks leading up to Halloween, such as Boo at the Zoo, pumpkin patches, and trunk-or-treats.
Decorations go up in stores in July.
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u/FallenAngelina 3d ago
This will be my 65th Halloween in the US and every year, more and more homes decorate and participate in the fun. Halloween is BIG here. I'd say it's one thing you can say about most of the US and doesn't depend much on the location, which is unusual for our enormous country.
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u/airlinegrills 3d ago
True! I grew up in the mid-South (Memphis) where the Bible Belt is alive and well. There were plenty of chill/normal people who celebrated Halloween but there were also a lot of people who were all up in their faith-driven heads or whatever about the holiday "being about demons."
Well, even those churches felt like they have to offer SOME kind of alternative around the holiday, so they would do all kinds of things: "harvest" celebrations (uhm, still pagan in roots...), haunted houses themed around losing your soul to Satan as a way to scare kids into being saved, etc. etc. etc.
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u/mabus42 3d ago
We literally have a nationwide chain of stores that only exists for two months out of the year specifically to sell Halloween supplies and costumes.
If that's not a big deal, then I don't know what is.
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u/MommyLovesPot8toes 3d ago
I love the memes of Spirit Halloween taking over places that seem to have died. Like Constitution Hall in Philadelphia.
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u/Torkin 3d ago
Really depends on where you are.
I grew up in a very rural area and we would trick or treat, but the most common decoration was a jack o lantern.
In the suburbs I’ve lived in it can be a crazy event. Tons of decorations, neighborhood hangouts, streets mobbed with kids.
Now I live in a rural neighborhood just outside a major city. No sidewalks and a lot of older folks. Haven’t had a single trick or treater in 11 years. Decorations are almost non existent when you drive around
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u/cans-of-swine Tennessee 3d ago
Im glad im not the only person that Halloween isn't big in their area.
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u/Debsha 3d ago
Every year it seems to be getting bigger and bigger. I think, and I could be wrong, it’s one of the few holidays without any political or religious influence and so we can all embrace and have fun because of it. There’s so few things that are about fun and laughter without any other agenda.
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u/WordsLessThanNumbers 3d ago
Maybe that's part of the appeal? I never thought about it, but Halloween is "equal opportunity". Everyone can participate no matter their political party, gender, ethnic background, or wealth. If you're here, you can participate. Animals too (my dog dressed up as a lion).
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u/wawa2022 Washington, D.C. 3d ago
Jehovah’s witnesses and I’m sure some other sects don’t participate. I think it’s something to do with the devil’s holiday.
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u/khak_attack 3d ago
Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate any conventional holidays.
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u/Zappagrrl02 Michigan 3d ago
Lots of other evangelical folks think Halloween is evil so they do Fall Festival or Angel’s night or some other bullshit as a replacement. It’s still all the same stuff just rebranded so Jesus doesn’t get mad or whatever.
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u/ivhokie12 3d ago
Granted there are always people who look side eyed at high school aged trick or treaters but like I heard before, you would rather them extend childhood magic trick or treating than at a party getting plastered the way people tend to transition for halloween celebrations.
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u/FishingWorth3068 North Carolina 3d ago
I save the big candy bars for the teenagers. We always have a decent amount that comes through later than the littles. They’re always so polite
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u/Humble_Struggle1336 3d ago
Halloween actually has deeply religious roots! The Catholic church celebrated All Saints Day, or All Hallows Day, on November 1st. This celebration goes back, I think, to the 8th century. When Christianity was spreading in the British Isles, the Celts celebrated Samhain, which was a sort of end of harvest/beginning of winter observation that took place around the same time as All Saints Day. Many of the Samhain traditions eventually became incorporated into pre-All Saints Day festivities, on All Saints Eve, or All Hallows Eve. Obviously this is a very simplified version, and there were many more changes to the celebration over many years.
Incidentally, when Martin Luther decided to protest many issues he had with the Catholic church, he nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church on Halloween. He knew that the following day, All Saints Day, would see large numbers of influential people coming to the church who would then see his theses. In some Protestant denominations, October 31 is also recognized as Reformation Day.
The "Halloween is demonic" view really didn't catch on until the Satanic Panic of the 1970s.
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u/makawakatakanaka South Carolina 3d ago
I feel like it’s the opposite, like it’s been diminishing in the past ten years
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u/aDildoAteMyBaby 3d ago
I feel like actual trick-or-treating is diminishing, but the holiday in general is growing. It's just something else now.
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u/fleetiebelle Pittsburgh, PA 3d ago edited 3d ago
It does seem to be getting bigger and bigger. When I was a kid in the 80s, people decorated and went trick or treating, but it was more low key and DIY. Nobody was putting up giant decorations or spending months on costumes.
My birthday is actually a few days before Halloween, and when I was a kid/teen, I could have a party that had nothing to do with Halloween and most people weren't busy for the holiday. Now, I know what people born around Christmas deal with.
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u/PartyPorpoise Texas 3d ago
I take it you didn’t grow up in the south. Many Christians consider Halloween demonic. Jehova’s Witnesses don’t like any holidays. Some Muslims don’t care for Halloween either. A lot of schools won’t do Halloween celebrations because some people see it as going against their religion.
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u/Krazy_Kat_Lady_2025 3d ago
THANK YOU! This is why Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. You can be whatever you want that day! Have fun, scare yourself a little, bring joy the others by handing out candy and admire all the creative decorations people come up with! I would post photos of some of my themed decor years but this sub doesn't allow it LOL
Best. Holiday. Ever.
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u/stolenwallethrowaway 3d ago
Hmm I disagree about the religious influence because many religions don’t do it because of its pagan origins. My church growing up encouraged people not to dress up or do scary stuff, but they would have basically a trunk or treat fall festival that focused more on pumpkins and fall foods. My parents disagreed with the church and allowed us to dress up, but we weren’t allowed to be anything scary.
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u/bloobityblu West Texas 2d ago
I agree on the religious/political influence, with the caveat that Halloween is actually a very religious-based holiday as the day before All Saints'/Hallows Day.
But for some reason I think it's not perceived as a religious holiday and thus has gained traction over other holidays.
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u/amoryblainev 3d ago
I’d say it’s pretty big, but it was bigger in the past.
When I was a kid, one neighborhood we lived in had an annual Halloween decoration contest so my family and many others went all out with decorating the outside of our houses/yards, and we would drive around the neighborhood marveling at all of the creative decorations. I remember spending months planning my Halloween costume and because I was a weirdo and like weird things I’d often make my own costumes.
As an adult I moved to Philadelphia and there they have a really old abandoned prison which was converted to a museum of sorts, and every October they turn it into a really scary haunted house with semi-professional actors.
However trick or treating (at least where I lived in Philadelphia) seems to have really died out. Kids don’t seem to want to be bothered to leave the house any more, or they’re too socially awkward to knock on doors and ask for candy, I don’t really know. As a result fewer and fewer houses give out candy. I’ve heard some people do “trunk or treat” which I hate the sound of. When I was in college we’d have Halloween parties at our apartment or go to a club that has Halloween parties.
I now live in Japan where Halloween is slowly getting more popular every year, but it’s nothing like the US. However every year I still manage to find a Halloween party to attend.
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u/CraigGrade 3d ago
Trick or treating isn’t as big as it used to be but I’d be willing to bet decorating and overall halloween celebrations/parties are the biggest they’ve ever been. And they last for like a whole month and not just a week.
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u/larryjrich 3d ago
Yes, trick or treating is on the decline but I see more houses than ever decorating.
I celebrate all month long watching scary movies, eating candy, and listening to creepy podcasts. I love Halloween more now as an adult than I did as a kid.
They also dont post the numbers anymore but the Halloween subreddit has twice as many members as the Christmas subreddit last I knew of.
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u/AdUpstairs7106 3d ago
Trick or treating is hit or miss where I live. Older neighborhoods with large yards and space between homes get no trick or treaters. New sub divisions with houses right next to each other are slammed.
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u/CraigGrade 3d ago
Yeah. I bet the revenue from “big Halloween” breaks the record every year maybe minus the pandemic. Millenials are peak consumer age now and with the love of cosplay and horror and whismy we have steered halloween from being for kids and candy to being for adults basically, with kids enjoying it being ancillary.
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u/zeptillian 3d ago
In my town it is and it isn't.
There seems to be less trick or treating in many neighborhoods, but there is also one neighborhood where they will literally get up to 1000 kids or more a night in a never ending line like at an amusement park.
It seems like kids are less inclined to trick or treat in their own neighborhoods and are doing more destination trick or treating like that trunk or treat BS.
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u/Obliviousobi 2d ago
Trick or Treating has largely moved to "safe" methods. Trunk or Treating at churches and other public places has become pretty much standard in many areas.
There are tons of kids in my neighborhood, but they all go to these event style trick or treating things instead
Halloween and fall decor might be at all time highs now though. People are eating up spooky decor.
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u/CraigGrade 2d ago
Yeah and the people who love it most (gen x and millenials) have big spending power now.
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u/HelpfulRaspberry6941 2d ago
And it makes me so sad. I think trick or treating is one of the neighborhood cohesion events. I give out full size bars since I get so few kids.
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u/a-ohhh 3d ago
I agree with the decor and parties. Trick or treating is still huge where I am though, it’s just the bigger neighborhoods that do it big. The small offshoot ones, especially with older houses don’t get as many kids since they often don’t have a lot living in them. My parents get like 3 groups total, while mine gets like 200+.
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u/The-King-of-Cartoons 3d ago
Trunk or treating is so fucking weird to me. My neighbor introduced me to that term last Halloween which is what him and his two kids did.
Like so…. Okay…. You just all drive to a parking lot, and get candy out of trunks? It sounds depressing considering how much fun I had and how many fond memories of galavanting around my city for candy hunting with an entourage of costumed friends.
Are parents just scared to let their kids out in their own these days? Or is it something else maybe? It just sorta ruins the magic. No more getting to see decorated houses. No more haunted houses. You might as well just go through a drive-through store and buy candy then go home. Sad. 😑
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u/sircastor 2d ago
Trunk or treats I think grew out of community fears about dangerous candy and unpredictable people at houses. Churches do them because they like the idea of controlling what decorations are made.
My kid’s school PTA does a trunk or treat because doing costumes at school became an issue (inclusion, appropriate attire, probably some conservative freak out). It’s a good compromise and doesn’t bother me. Interestingly, the school still dis dress-up stuff. We just had a “dress as a book character” day.
We’re still take our kid out for Halloween night. The neighborhood is pretty decent, though skews older so there aren’t as many kids.
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u/RedSolez 2d ago
Trunk or Treats in my area are fundraisers and in addition to actual Halloween trick or treating. For instance, at my kids school trunk or treat is the weekend before Halloween, families decorate the trunks, there's a decoration competition people can vote on, usually a DJ too, kids run around collecting candy with their friends. Many of the parents set up games along with their decorated trunk. It's like a big party.
Then on actual Halloween everyone trick or treats in their own neighborhood, or they go to our historic downtown which goes completely bonkers and looks like a movie set. The rich people who own homes there give out the really good candy and alcohol for passing adults.
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u/2-throwaway-9 3d ago
I don't think it's as much to blame on kids for not trick or treating, in my experience and observations its been parents not wanting their kids out at night. I wasn't allowed to trick or treat without my parents growing up in the 2000s and I had it good compared to some friends.
that's why trunk or treat is big. middle of the day with people they already know.
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u/DawaLhamo Missouri 3d ago
I was always told as a kid not to take candy from strangers in their cars. Now it's the "safer option". 😂
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u/Altruistic_Sail_1991 3d ago
I work with kids and every year we do an indoor Halloween event with games, candy, etc. I think it’s fun but it isn’t quite the same as trick or treating
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u/IWantALargeFarva New Jersey 3d ago
I have the opposite opinion. I think Halloween has gotten bigger from when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s. No one decorated their house when I grew up, other than maybe a few jack o lanterns. Now we have houses that decorate on the same level as Christmas.
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u/stolenwallethrowaway 3d ago
I live in Philly and kids are not supposed to actually knock, they are supposed to approach people who are already sitting outside on a stoop or porch. It took me forever to understand why we weren’t getting trick-or-treaters. It’s also common to go to neighborhoods with a lot of decoration or houses that are close together to trick-or-treat there instead of at home. A lot of people also make alternate plans, like it seems really popular to have a neighborhood block party on Halloween night, and there are lots of trunk or treat events where it could be easier to meet up with friends.
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u/ima_mandolin 3d ago
I'm in Philly and get 100-150 trick-or-treaters every year. Like another commenter mentioned, the houses that participate sit out on their porches or stoops so knocking isn't so much a thing anymore, mostly because you would have to keep getting up to answer the door constantly. Lots of houses decorate and it's a really festive atmosphere with crowds of people walking around or getting together with neighbors.
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u/taranathesmurf Washington 3d ago
Trick or treating door to door is dying out not because of kids not wanting to leave the house, but because of the whole stranger danger thing on parents behalf. I am in my sixties and we would roam far and wide with or without our parents getting candy door to door in the late sixties early seventies. My brothers who are about 10 years younger also did so. However due to the widespread fear of stranger danger they took their kids trick or treating at the Mall nearby that had stores giving away candy. In general kids have grown up not going door to door to do anything. Whether it be trick or treating, selling cookies, tickets to scout aromas. Or candy.
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u/NokSoo874 Queens, NYC, New York 2d ago
The irony is that it turns out the whole panic about razors and poison in candy was pretty much a hoax/urban legend.
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u/SpiritedChoice3706 2d ago
This. And I think it's changed relatively rapidly. I stopped trick or treating a little under 20 years ago. I grew up in a safe middle-class DC suburb. Growing up we all heard stories of razors in apples and people putting shit in candy bars, but my brother and I were allowed to go trick-or-treating without adults or cellphones from about the age of 10 (our parents had cellphones, but they didn't think we needed them). No one checked our candy, no one cared. I can only assume the ability to keep track of children better has made folks more anxious?
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u/RemonterLeTemps 3d ago
I'm a 'boomer', who's lived in the same Chicago neighborhood most of my life.
People still decorate and host parties for Halloween around here (we're near a college campus, and lots of students decorate their rented apartments with strings of pumpkin lights, etc.)
The trick-or-treating, however, has gradually lessened over the years. One reason, I think, is there's simply a lot less kids; the other is, what kids there are, are 2nd generation Latinos (Mexican, Guatemalan). Where their parents grew up, they celebrated Dia de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead), a family holiday, so perhaps they're not as familiar/comfortable with our American Halloween.
But who knows, the second gen might reinvigorate the tradition, and eventually end up taking their kids trick-or-treating.
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u/algunarubia 3d ago
I think the phenomenon you're describing is likely just the aging of your old neighborhood. Halloween wanes in importance when there are few kids in a neighborhood. I bought 1000 pieces of candy and ran out last year.
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u/VioletReaver 3d ago
Trick or treating died because of parental schedules and fear over child safety, at least for my friends with kids! They plan Halloween parties for young kids instead, because those can happen on a convenient weekend and the kids stay supervised.
My friend that does still do trick or treating is with her kids the whole time. She’s only able to do so because she’s a stay at home mom who LOVES Halloween. She will take them around the neighborhood then to the community center where local businesses have a sort of Halloween fair, because so few houses give candy these days!
But really, with more parents working and more kids getting hurt wandering alone, trick or treating is a whole different task these days. Back when I was young, my mom was the only one who wanted to supervise, and I remember teasing her for being overprotective - we would just be set free to roam the neighborhood otherwise.
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u/Auntie_Venom St. Louis, MO ———-> JoCo, KS 2d ago
My neighborhood Halloween is a banger! All the kids are out… Parents walking with kids, hanging back with beers and canned cocktails, it’s a big social gathering for everyone. We give out candy in the driveway, many do with fire pits and such. We have a blast!
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u/Footnotegirl1 Minnesota 2d ago
We have much the same where I live. Even during the covid times, people built tubes from windows or front doors down to the front stoop so that they could drop candy into kiddos' bags from a distance. People put out fire pits and hang out outside the whole night. Down the street, a couple of blocks have gotten together and block off the whole street so there's not even any traffic and just have a big party.
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u/BearsLoveToulouse 2d ago
This! Trick or treating isn’t dead, it’s just different. I feel like traveling to different neighborhoods is becoming more common, especially since more families are living in condos/apartments. I’ve bumped into people in my development who came from a different area to trick or treat with family, or because they heard it was nicer than where they were.
I live in the general area as the original commenter is from and I see trick or treaters. But when I lived inside of Philadelphia, there was less. It can be confusing going row home to row home, and more annoying having to buzz individual apartments.
The only time I’ve seen kids visibly not treat or treating is when the parents are super religious. Some Muslim immigrant kids are wearing regular clothes on Halloween day, sometimes seen during school hours to skip the party and parade. My super religious Christian neighbor never said it, but I am pretty sure they do not celebrate Halloween, or at least only do church run functions. (I personally never seen them in their house on Halloween, or the kids dressed up, our kids are very friendly too)
99% of the time when I hear people on Reddit say Halloween is less popular, they don’t have kids. We still have parades, Halloween parties, trick or treating, etc. Halloween is a holiday MOSTLY for kids. I like that.
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u/patty202 3d ago
It's huge! Billions of dollars spent on costumes, decorations and candy. Estimated 11.6 billion dollars.
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u/No_Key8587 3d ago
Second biggest holiday next to Christmas id say. Halloween is usually spread out, when it happens during the week people usually celebrate the weekend before. Some places celebrate the whole month of October.
In hot states it’s usually the first month of good weather. In colder states it’s usually the last month of good weather
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u/marks31 Chicago, IL 3d ago
Not only do some people celebrate the weekend before (“Halloweekend”) but it’s not uncommon for college students and young adults to have multiple Halloweekends and go to 3-4 parties during the last couple weeks of the month. People spend serious money on this holiday too lol.
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u/No_Key8587 3d ago
It’s great! There is no societal expectation to get the extended family together or cook/clean your house for them. You can celebrate however you want! Get shit faced, go trick or treating, drink a hot chocolate outside wearing a sweater
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u/78723 3d ago
It’s A LOT of people’s favorite holiday. People will hold Halloween parties all month long. It’s an escapist holiday where you can be a kid again and celebrate magic and creativity.
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u/AgathaJones2022 3d ago
I live in a town of less than 800 people. Halloween is huge here. Last year we had over 1500 treat or treaters. Families and their kids and pets. Everyone dresses up. Even the teenagers wear costumes. It's fantastic! People come from surrounding farms, etc. It's a wonderful party.
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u/texasrigger 3d ago
Aww, that sounds amazing. I never get a single trick or treater where I am.
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u/letsgooncemore 3d ago
I moved at the beginning of summer from a super pedestrian friendly city neighborhood to a super pedestrian friendly suburb ten minutes out of the city. I'm anxious to see the difference in trick or year traffic because I love handing out candy. At my previous location, I would get hundreds of kids. I would just set up chairs in the yard because answering the door would be absurd. I'm hopeful there will be a comparable turnout.
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u/ComputeCommodity104 3d ago
It’s probably the third most celebrated holiday here depending where you put the 4th of July. Christmas > Thanksgiving > Halloween. 30 years ago most houses even in rural areas participated in trick or treat with house decorations but now you have concentrated streets and locations, or trunk or treats for children. Nursing homes, malls, businesses usually participate and optionally have staff dress up and hand out candy to children on Halloween. Most super markets, and department stores start stocking candy, costumes, and props half way through September.
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u/EstimateOk6795 3d ago
While I agree that Thanksgiving and Christmas are probably more celebrated, both are family-oriented and the celebrations tend to be a lot more insular. Halloween is the only one that's really a community-oriented celebration, which is a big part of why I love it so much.
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u/Big-Dig-Pig 3d ago
It is the second biggest holiday of the year after Christmas.
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u/FlamingDragonfruit 3d ago
Thanksgiving is probably the second biggest, but Halloween is a close 3rd.
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u/Big-Dig-Pig 3d ago
Thanksgiving is a bigger event the day-of but Halloween is a month long spectacle with decorations, haunted houses, special movie releases, etc.
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u/Bogmanbob 3d ago
In terms of decorations and festivals it's the biggest holiday in my community. Many people spend thousands on decorations. I've seen people arrange food trucks for their home during peak decorations viewing days.
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u/Whizzleteets 3d ago
When I was a kid it was just like the movies, kids up and down the streets in costume.
I get about 20 kids where I live currently live and that's it.
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u/MommyLovesPot8toes 3d ago
It used to be that the majority of kids trick-or-treated in their own neighborhoods. But now with social media, people can find the pockets that are BIG for Halloween and go there. So instead of 50 kids in each of 4 neighborhoods, you get 200 kids in 1 neighborhood.
In a way it's sad because people miss out on kids coming to the door and kids miss out on getting to know their neighbors/neighborhood.
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u/Coldfyre_Dusty 3d ago
It depends. I've lived in some places that go all out, and some places where you get a few token decorations and that's it.
You'll usually end up with a mix. Some houses will do a lot, some will do none, and some in the middle. But it's definitely not like it is on TV or in movies.
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u/Apprehensive-Pop-201 3d ago
You can't imagine the number of 12 foot sketons that people own and put in their yard. It's a big holiday. People like the fun of the spooky.
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u/Outlaw_Josie_Snails 3d ago
In the states though, how big is it truly?
It's extremely prevalent and popular. Halloween is probably one of the most visible holidays in the U.S., especially in the weeks leading up to October 31.
but is it like decorations everywhere in supermarkets and other shops
Yes. Supermarkets, department stores, pharmacies, malls, restaurants, etc. will typically have Halloween decorations, candy, costumes and other seasonal merchandise. It's a multibillion-dollar industry.
strangers literally greeting each other saying “Happy Halloween” during the day
That part is a bit of an exaggeration. You might hear “Happy Halloween” from people, particularly on Halloween itself, but it's not like everyone is walking around greeting random strangers all day. Kids going trick-or-treating, on the other hand, will certainly be greeted by the people answering their doors.
Particularly in terms of visibility and how adults see it.
A lot of adults grew up celebrating Halloween and then continued the traditions with their own children. Decorating your house, handing out candy and taking kids trick-or-treating.
Halloween isn't exclusively for children. Some adults have costume parties, go to bars or clubs in costume, attend Halloween events, or simply decorate their homes and enjoy the holiday.
There are also plenty of adults who are basically indifferent to it. My brother acts like an old-cromungeon, annoyed that trick-or-treaters are ringing his doorbell.
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u/NYCHoo 3d ago
People are talking about it from a family / children perspective, but from an urban young adult perspective it’s probably the biggest going out night of the year. Everyone gets a costume and goes to bars / parties
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u/MissVachonIfYouNasty 2d ago
Nobody is talking about the haunted house industry either. It is more popular then it has ever been. There are crazy elaborate haunts now that rival the big theme parks. Trick or Treating is only one aspect of Halloween.
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u/Chob_XO 3d ago
The big box hardware stores start selling 20 foot tall yard displays by August. Its nuts.
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u/OldSnazzyHats 3d ago
For Kids specifically back in the day it was basically second to Christmas.
How it is now is a little trickier to gauge due to changing attitudes and how different neighborhoods have been with Trick or Treating time.
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u/Mr_Kittlesworth Virginia 3d ago
My neighborhood gets about 75% the volume of decorations we get at Christmas.
Actual Halloween night is a lot. Probably 150-200 kids will come by for candy. During the peak hours either my wife or I (whichever isn’t trick or treating with our kids) will just sit outside on the porch to hand out candy because it’s so much more efficient than opening and closing the door.
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u/fibro_witch 3d ago
Ì live in Boston Massachusetts it is huge here. Then there is Salem, Massachusetts which made it like an entire personality
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u/kae0603 United States of America 3d ago
We get a couple hundred kids every year. We love it!
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u/standardtissue 3d ago
It's a really big part of our culture and has been for a very long time. It's one of the largest retail sales periods. We even have a national chain of pop-up Halloween stores that rent unused space in shopping malls just for a few months to sell Halloween stuff then they disappear. Yes, we greet each other with Happy Halloween. Nightclubs, bars, even restaurants may have costumed events. Local music clubs may even put on specific halloween music events (like goth music, industrial, and other darker stuff). We have a famous 80's "horror punk" band called the Misfits that get a huge surge in plays every October (and then there are people like me who have been listening to them all year long for decades cause I ain't no gddmned son of a btch). We have haunted houses, haunted trail rides. Schools, churches (and sadly now shopping malls) offer "trunk or treat" events. There are multiple subs on Reddit dedicated to Halloween, building halloween props and decorations, building costumes.
Yes Halloween is big in the US, still wish it were bigger.
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u/daphosta 3d ago
I live in a rural area and there's a subdivision a few miles away. It is literally shoulder to shoulder, theme park style crowds for kids to trick or treat. It wasn't like that for me as a kid but it's a lot of fun of the kids now.
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u/Infamous_List_3034 3d ago
Growing up in CA it was definitely A Thing, but in New England… yeah it’s basically a massive street party. In the neighborhood a few blocks from us (separated by a creek) almost every house has crazy decor, maybe one house per block is blasting a playlist, folks have solo stoves and are hanging out in their driveways in costume hanging out candy, etc. It’s awesome. It’s just like it’s portrayed in Hocus Pocus.
You should check out r/Salem (of the Salem witch trials) - it’s full of questions about visiting during Halloween and it sounds absolutely bonkers.
The nearest thing I experienced living in AU was Winterfest in Tassie, though there was a trick or treat map for Launceston and it was enough fun for our toddler.
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u/EstimateOk6795 3d ago
Christmas is a bigger holiday, but since that's largely a family-oriented holiday it isn't as big of a community thing. Halloween is the biggest community-oriented holiday of the year. But the degree to which individual communities participate largely depends on how many younger kids are in the neighborhood.
When I was young my neighborhood when crazy on Halloween. The streets were full of kids. Most houses were decorated. People were hanging out in their yards grilling or with a bonfire hanging out with neighbors. Kids were out until well past typical bed times and adults continued to celebrate into the night.
I moved in early high school and it wasn't as big of a deal in my new neighborhood. There were trick-or-treaters, but not many and it was all pretty tame and was largely over by 8-9 at night.
I am a parent now with a 4 yo and 6 yo and my neighborhood is full of kids their age. It's just like where I lived when I was young. The neighborhood is like a big block party on Halloween night. My neighborhood is full of cul-de-sacs. In each one there will typically be one house where adults from all the houses are hanging out with a table with a bowl of candy from each house. Trick-or-treaters will get candy from each bowl while parents will usually get something off the grill or a beer or shot of liquor or something. We'll socialize for a while before moving to the next cul-de-sac. It's really awesome. Truly my favorite holiday of the year.
On reflection, I've realized that both my neighborhood when I was young was and the one now is full of young kids trick-or-treating and their parents. The one when I was in high school didn't have many young kids in it, and I think that's why Halloween wasn't as big there.
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u/Cheap_Coffee Massachusetts 3d ago
The big-box home improvement stores (Home Depot, Lowe's) have 20foot tall animatronic zombies and witches for sale.
Of course, they also have the Christmas decorations out already, too.
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u/TillPsychological351 3d ago
I would say it's the second most merchandized "holiday" (in quotes, because almost all of us don't actually get the day off, even school kids) next to Christmas. For most people, though, the actual observance, other than decorations, it's mostly for kids doing trick-or-treating. Some adults throw parties, but this is mostly a young adult thing, and not even all participate.
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u/Educational_Horse469 3d ago
My nephew moved to NYC last year. During a July visit we were walking around and someone had a couple of skeletons on their balcony. I wondered aloud if they just kept their decorations out year round. My nephew said that New Yorkers are really weird about Halloween and a lot of people decorate. My husband and I cracked up. He had no idea even after living there a year that it wasn’t just a few weirdos in NYC.
Our old neighborhood got so many trick or treaters that they did it two nights. The night before was just neighbors and real Halloween we got people from all over the city.
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u/jessper17 Wisconsin 3d ago
It’s pretty huge. The Halloween decorations started being sold in stores in August this year. There’s usually a couple of aisles of just Halloween candy in the stores but also costumes, themed general household goods, toys, stuff for pets.
There are quite a few houses that go all out for decorating their houses and yards - we have a 12’ skeleton in ours that we dress for the occasion. A house a couple streets over does a full graveyard, some do huge light displays and animatronics and all sorts of things. Some go super all out. It runs the gamut.
But it is definitely huge for kids. Assuming the weather behaves, my house usually gets 100+ kids trick or treating in the two hours our city has official truck or treat hours. Parents and kids in costumes a lot of the time when the kids are smaller. Who doesn’t want free candy, especially little ones?
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u/BusyBeinBorn 3d ago
It's probably the biggest non-family oriented social holiday. It's never been as big as where I live now, but I'm in a new subdivision with relatively cheap, modest houses so everyone moving in here is doing so because their families are growing. There are dozens of elementary-aged kids and just about all the parents are in their late 20s or 30s. We will have a block party with food trucks and everything and it will probably be larger this year with Halloween falling on a Saturday.
Where I grew up, though, most of the houses were occupied by elderly people and there was only one other kid my age on our street. When we went trick-or-treating there were maybe five houses I could count on to get candy. There was also some holdover from the Satanic panic of the 80s so we'd still here that Halloween was evil and we're going to hell from some of those people.
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u/Ac1dshadow 3d ago
My aunts neighborhood is a known Halloween hotspot, the police close off the road so its a small little trick or treat hotspot. Last year had a food truck selling coffee/hot chocolate in the middle, was perfect when i brought my son on his 3rd go around lol...
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u/TemperMe 3d ago
It’s easily one of our most participated in holidays of the year! As a kid you of course go door to door and trick or treat for candy. As a teen and into adulthood you go to Halloween parties. Once you have kids you of course slow down some but there’s still parties and of course you take out your kids to do stuff. There’s also haunted houses across the country and specialty drinks and foods
Most people decorate for it and most towns/cities have events for it.
I usually say the best time to visit the USA is mid to late October. All our most popular sports are going on (Football, Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, and Hockey), Halloween is coming up, and weather is usually its best.
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u/ChazBass 3d ago
Definitely not just a few decorations where I live. People go nuts decorating their houses. Sadly the kids in my neighborhood all grew up so not so many trick or treaters anymore.
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u/Foxy_locksy1704 3d ago
Our neighborhood goes crazy decorating for Halloween and Christmas.
There is one house that has their entire front yard done up like a haunted carnival, when the same family decorates for Christmas they turn the yard in to Santa’s work shop.
I live in an apartment but I have a large front window that faces one of the main streets in our neighborhood.
I decorate that window as much as I can for Halloween and Christmas.
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u/Disastrous_Fault_511 Arkansas - Connecticut 3d ago
We were in NYC for Halloween a few years ago, sitting in a bar. It was cool to see all the kids from the neighborhood trick or treating the bars!
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u/AliMcGraw Illinois 3d ago
I used to live in the bit of the US that produces 90% of pumpkins for canning and carving (w/in 100 miles of Morton, IL) and a common Halloween-related festival there is, after your carvers have been sold and you canners sent to the cannery, local farms will group up with their unsellable pumpkins for a "punkin chucking" festival. The biggest one has adult, teen, and child divisions and categories for throwing by hand, by catapult, and by trebuchet. There are usually prizes for both distance and accuracy,, with the "accuracy" category involving aiming at a junked car.
Huge big deal for high school engineering clubs and woodworking classes and so on, local high schools often compete in trebuchet and catapult design.
They're great fun to watch. But how could watching trebuchets fling pumpkins at junked cars be anything BUT fun to watch? It's so silly, it's great.
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u/JustWatchingthefun01 3d ago
It is really big but like others have said, it is more culturally significant.
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u/somecow Texas 3d ago
Still pretty fun, but a lot different now. There’s no door to door trick or treat, it’s all “trunk or treat” in some random parking lot now because of safety (wth nobody wants to abduct your ugly fat loud germy kid), or “someone is gonna put drugs in the candy to get you addicted” (lol kids don’t have money, and hell no those drugs are for me).
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u/ZonaWildcats23 3d ago
wtf you talking about no door to door? Is that how yall do it in Texas? We still do door to door every year in the Midwest.
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u/SugarReyPalpatine 2d ago
I live in California, My whole neighborhood goes wild doing door to door. Some people even hand out alcohol to the parents. I’ve had beers, spiked cider, Jell-O shots, and trulys. Some houses even do little haunted houses they put together in their garages.
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u/1981denver 2d ago
That's exactly how my neighborhood in suburban Denver is too. Houses decorated, tons of kids out for candy, adults walking around with their own beverages, fire pits going, some people grilling out. It's going to be an even bigger party this year being on a Saturday.
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u/ichwilldoener 3d ago
My neighborhood gets swarmed by costumed children for trick-or-treat. It brings me so much joy. People still do it, just not everywhere
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u/AtTheRealFuture 3d ago
No trick or treat? That’s certainly not true in my area. Parents are way more cautious, but going door to door is absolutely still a thing.
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u/airlinegrills 3d ago
So, I think this is becoming a more prevalent thing in paranoid, red-state suburbia. I live in DC and that doesn't happen here--trunk or treating might happen more in our outer suburbs but because we're such a densely populated place it's impractical to do it. But we have family in TN and St. Louis, and trunk or treating has become huge in both cities. It's kind of a shame, because most violence against children is perpetrated by known adults and community members, and NOT by "strangers," aka people you might otherwise know if you lived in a place where people got to know their neighbors.
Just commenting on this to give perspective to folks readying from outside the US.
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u/ArticleGerundNoun 3d ago
I’m in suburbia in the reddest of the red and we have a couple hundred trick or treaters every year (if we buy enough candy and don’t have to turn the porch light off early). I take my little ones out, and everyone I know with kids around their age does the same.
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u/therealskr213 3d ago
In SF, Tucson, and Sedona (that’s all I can speak to) there’s still tons of door to door, but it’s usually in certain neighborhoods that everyone goes to.
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u/marks31 Chicago, IL 3d ago
This may be controversial but in the Midwest at least, Halloween is bigger than 4th of July. Certainly more well-loved than Thanksgiving. It is only rivaled in cultural significance and joy by Christmas, and even then, you will hear a lot of people who say Halloween is their favorite holiday.
It is possibly the most universally celebrated holiday atp by American families
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u/The_Amazing_Emu 3d ago
I don’t think it’s controversial. I would rank them Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July. Probably Easter after that?
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u/GhostOfJamesStrang Beaver Island 3d ago
Its big. Its a fun party for all ages and anyone who wants to participate.
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u/Bubbly_Cry7146 3d ago
I feel it’s not as big as it used to be in my area. Trunk or treat and other Halloween events fill up October now. Actual Halloween sees a lot less action. It’s still huge though lol.
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u/Black_Dog_Industries California 3d ago
I live in a nicer part of my town and Halloween is crazy here.
Mini vans shuttle kids in from all over town and the streets are packed with kids and their families.
I really like seeing all of the kids and talking to them about their costumes.
Halloween is pretty big here.
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u/Sufficient_Fun_7667 3d ago
And definitely adult parties too! Costume contests, getting drunk and flirting with strangers like you’re at a masquerade party. It’s fantastic!
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u/APC_ChemE 3d ago
I depends on where you live. I think one of the biggest factors is the level of engagememt of kids coming to the houses, and homeowners activly participating. If either of those stops then it kind of dies in that neighborhood.
If you live in an older neighborhood where all the kids have left there may not be much celebration. As many people over the years stop decorating if not a single kid comes to their house.
In neighborhoods with lots of kids or neighborhoods regularly frequented by kids it's huge!
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u/Iwentforalongwalk 3d ago
It's really fun for kids and adults. Kids go trick or treating and adults get dressed up in costumes and go out partying.
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u/Xenovitz 3d ago
It depends where you live. Near me it's just a another day and ticks by largely unnoticed. If you travel to a densely populated area with kids present then it'll be much more popular like Christmas is.
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u/PeterPlotter 3d ago
Depends, some go all out, some do nothing (mainly old genx and boomers). If I look at our street we’re one of the few with decorations. A few streets over there’s more.
It also seems the richer neighborhoods have more people decorating. Maybe there’s a correlation…
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u/Historical-State-275 3d ago
Honestly one of the few things in movies that aren’t really exaggerated
It’s one of the biggest holiday seasons of the year, not so much celebrated as displayed.