It’s time we got on board with Halloween, Australia, and here’s why

OPINION: Why is there so much Halloween hate in Australia? For decades, Americans have embraced this terrifying tradition. It’s about time we did too.

Mernda Spooky House

THERE’S something seriously spooky about the streets of New York City. From downtown to uptown, from the east side to west side, death is in the air.

Cobwebs line the cobbled streets of the meat packing district, skeletons dangle from the streets of Soho while ghouls and ghosts overrun Greenwich Village.

And sure, headless horsemen might be terrorising the streets of Harlem, but this isn’t the apocalyptic end of the world as we know it — it’s simply Halloween.

For decades, Americans have embraced this terrifying tradition — and this year is certainly no different.

According to savingsadvice.com, 41.2 million kids between the age of 5-14 who will likely go trick-or-treating. Parents will spend an average of $74.34 on sweets, costumes and decorations. About 50 million acres of pumpkins have been harvested.

Even the family dog gets into the spirit of things, with Americans spending $350 million on costumes for their pets.

Those with a sweet tooth really get to indulge, with $2.2 billion spent on lollies and chocolates. Even those that don’t want to drown in sweets still dig into their wallets at this time of year, spending big money throwing cobwebs over doors and putting pumpkins in the windows. The total national spend on decorations alone was $2 billion. That’s right, TWO BILLION DOLLARS.

How much do you think us Aussies will spend? If my childhood is anything to go by, I’m prepared to say next to nothing.

Fair enough, I’m no spring chicken and when I was a kid in the ‘90s, the idea of celebrating Halloween in Australia was akin to celebrating Independence Day. It just didn’t happen. But I persisted.

I remember knocking on neighbours’ doors, yelling trick or treat in a “costume” that I’d pulled together from my mother’s wardrobe (I distinctly remember an attempt at a Sailor Moon outfit that just looked truly awful) and for the most part, the response was nothing short of disappointing.

One time I got a choc chip muesli bar. Another time I got one dollar. But most often, I’d get a slammed door in my face. “We don’t celebrate Halloween in Australia,” they’d yell back at me. I was ten years old.

Granted, times have changed and Australia is on its way to recognising this as a fun little holiday celebration, but in comparison to America, we’ve got a long way to go.

I can’t understand why but Australians seem really resistant to get on board the terror-train to Halloween. Why? Perhaps because, while although it roots stem from pagan beliefs way back in Medieval Europe, these days it’s recognised typically as an American holiday, and us stubborn Aussies hate to follow the Yanks’ coat tail.

But what I’ve learned from my first Halloween in the United States is that while Australians might think it’s an excuse for kids to make themselves sick on lollies and adults to behave in an over-sexualised way in public, it’s not that at all.

More than anything, Halloween is about community.

It’s about getting together and carving pumpkins with friends. It’s about neighbours growing closer ties to their community. It’s about family. It’s about young adults expressing themselves creatively and forming bonds over pumpkin punch.

And the reward? One hell of a candy hangover.

“It’s just escapism to be honest,” New Yorker Jeannine Escobar explains.

“It’s an opportunity to let your hair down, be creative and allows you to be something you wouldn't’ have been otherwise.”

If Australia’s stats are anything to go by, we’re increasingly allowing Halloween into our home year on year.

Last year, Woolworths saw sales on costumes, decorations and trick or treat baskets jump 15 per cent in comparison to 2013, and this year, pumpkin sales increased by five per cent after only two weeks on the shelves.

“We are seeing more and more of our customers embrace Halloween. Given the growing interest we’ve reviewed and extended our range of Halloween themed products to cater for the increasing demand,” Amanda Lunn, Woolworths merchandise manger, told HuffPost Australia.

It’s a slow burn, but it shows where we’re heading — to Halloween.

Whatever misconceptions you might have about this holiday, I dare you to get involved. After all, who knows what you might ... dig up? MUAHAHAHA.

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