Written by Robyn Eggs
Written for Portland Community College
November 6, 2011
My Evaluation Essay
As a child in America, holidays mean everything.
Some holidays are longer and concentrate on the family while others constitute a day of celebration for the individual or group culture, such the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. Halloween was always my most looked forward to celebration. I enjoyed going out at night, dressing up in a unique costume, and collecting lots of candy for now and later. Halloween is fun. And, because of its versatility, Halloween is a profitable opportunity for retail. From costumes to candy to numerous decorations for the home and the yard there are many fun items to purchase and fun traditions to follow. This holiday has been celebrated by our country for a long time. Halloween is the best American holiday!
Trick-or-treating is so much fun! It’s an act that everybody can enjoy.
Parents enjoy taking their children out and children enjoy the candy. It’s even fun to stay at home and be the one passing out the candy. My favorite candy to get was always the chocolate covered peanut butter cups. Sometimes people will also pass out caramel apples or wax lips. I remember as a kid we would get caramel covered popcorn balls from the neighbor. Here in Portland, OR the trick to getting a good stash of candy is finding the right neighborhood. A friendly neighborhood with lots of older people that stay at home can yield buckets of candy. After a good night of trick-or-treating, children can get a supply of goodies that lasts for months and sometimes even until the next year.
On Halloween adults will go out in exciting costumes.
Teens will wander the streets, and children will collect candy and smash pumpkins. Many people celebrate this holiday by partying. Some either party at the bar or at a friend’s. Young adults can also have fun going all out to decorate a yard or a haunted house and scaring wary trick-or-treaters. Whether it is spent with family or friends, though, the best part of Halloween is getting to look at everybody’s costumes.
The costume possibilities for this holiday are endlessly versatile.
They can be scary or funny, casual or formal. They can represent a figure from the past, present, or future. Practically everyone can afford to wear one. A costume can be made from inexpensive materials such as a toilet paper mummy or a foil wrapped alien. A person can create a costume from their bedding by donning a sheet and holding a pillowcase open. It is also possible to have an elaborate costume made by a professional. Many people order their costumes over the internet which offers them a variety of prices and possibilities. Other people really enjoy the challenge and adventure of putting something together from what they have in their closet or household. Small children especially enjoy dressing up as their favorite Disney character or movie hero equipped with plastic pumpkins or various bags for collecting candy.
On the retail side, Halloween is one the best holidays
because you can buy creepy stuff that lasts year round like skull candelabras and wine glasses. People can buy candy, costumes, or yard decorations and they almost always buy a pumpkin. I know I bought at least $60 worth of stuff for Halloween this year. I decorated my apartment patio with a short picket fence lined with “Haunted House-Keep Out!” tape, Styrofoam tombstones, and stretchy black and white cobwebs hosting real live spiders. I also bought Halloween themed wine glasses, a punch bowl, and two ghost hangings for the entryway. I had a moderate budget to spend so I bought a pirate wench costume and a buccaneer hat while my friend lent me a cloak and dagger.
According to the National Retail Federation,
this year Americans were expected to spend an average of $72.31 on decorations, costumes, and candy. Halloween is also a time to buy autumn themed items as well as other eccentric and unique items. While shopping I found a haunted house gingerbread kit! Retailers also stock Thanksgiving and Christmas items knowing that consumers like to buy ahead.
Halloween encompasses its own traditions like Christmas or Thanksgiving.
It is a part of American history. One tradition of Halloween is watching scary movies. Many movies have been made that glorify the thrill of being scared and an entire genre of horror exists. Creatures of the night have been in film since it was in black and white. Zombies, werewolves, and vampires continue to dominate TV and movies. Another part of this tradition involves carving pumpkins. Today in the stores, pumpkin carving kits come with stencils you can use ranging from easy to elaborate. Carving pumpkins, raking leaves into orange bags with faces of pumpkins on them, and watching “The Nightmare Before Christmas” are all favorite memories of mine. Just waiting for Halloween to arrive is memorable.
When the trees become barren and the dark of night
comes on earlier, Halloween is close. Halloween signals the kick-off of the holiday season. It also represents the change of the season. It may be warm enough on a night before October 31rst but it is almost certainly cold on a Halloween night in Portland. I remember wearing wool tights and turtlenecks under my costumes as a kid. I remember wearing a costume that expressed what I was into that year. I remember all the cool goodies I got like double-bubble and plastic vampire teeth. For me Halloween is a celebration of pure fun. It is all about hanging out with friends and family and looking weird. It is all about coming up with the best costume ever. I see Halloween as a chance to express my freedom as an American. Having the right to decorate my porch with horrific images, to blast screaming and whaling from my window, and to be accepted for watching horrific images on my TV are all a freedom I cherish. The freedom of expression is taken to the max every year by numerous citizens of all creeds. And that is why Halloween is the best American holiday!
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Work Cited
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