He said
There are two points to holding Halloween and other holidays that aren't really holidays: they are fun, and they keep the economy alive.
I wouldn't want to deprive kids of Halloween any more than I would want to deprive them of Santa Claus. I remember Halloween night was about as exciting Christmas morning. You knew you were going to get a bunch of stuff you didn't have before, and it was all going to be delicious, as long as you don't mind a box of raisins.
It's mostly fun for kids, but there are other non-holidays like Valentine's Day, that are more fun for adults if they can still enjoy a day that isn't even a day off. These are days where people can have a great time. Sure they can go out and have fun on any given Tuesday, but nobody does that. People need to be told when to have fun, and it needs to scheduled annually, otherwise nobody will get around to buying a lot of chocolate or clothes that are coloured for the occasion.
Maybe in Saskatchewan everybody has lots of green things to where for St. Patrick's Day, but everywhere else people need to buy special clothes to suit that day.
That brings us to the real reason there is a point to these holidays: money. There's a little something after American Thanksgiving called Black Friday, where businesses get out of the red and into the black because Christmas is coming and people need to spend.
I recall an old Simpsons episode where a bunch of executives notice a drop in revenue and, sitting around a table in a skyscraper, decide they need to come up with a holiday in order to maintain good business. The result is Love Day. Happy Love Day everyone.
Holidays are about making money. Even those that people think have some other meaning, like Christmas or Easter, are really about gift giving and chocolate. There's a lot of money to be made.
Halloween is great for the candy companies and costume makers. Valentine's Day is great for the candy companies and jewellers. Christmas and Easter are great for the candy companies. Really, holidays exist so we can support Big Chocolate. If they ever figure out a way to make St. Patrick's about candy and brown pop, they will have truly cornered the holiday market.
She said
I read somewhere that the population of the United States pumped something like $7 million into Halloween stuff this year. At first, that seemed crazy. What a huge waste of money. Don't these people have groceries and stuff to be buying?
And then I thought about my own Halloween. I could break it down for you, but I'll be vague and say that after buying gas to go to Saskatoon, two Halloween costumes, beverages for Friday and Saturday nights and food, I can definitely see how people can blow their cash quickly and easily on a stupid celebration.
Because Halloween isn't even a real holiday. A real holiday earns a day off from school, and Halloween doesn't get this. It rates up there with St. Patrick's Day and Valentine's Day as pointless garbage. Awesome and fun garbage, but largely pointless.
Because I had a lot of fun this past weekend, and though my dad and I really disagree in this aspect, I think all the fun makes all the spending worthwhile.
Think back to Valentine's Day in elementary school. Do you remember how exciting it was to hand out valentines to your classmates? In Kindergarten it was super innocent and you loved them all because they were shiny and sometimes came with candy. Then you got a little bit older and suddenly each valentine was a statement and had lines to read between. I remember putting a sticker on one, thinking that XOX was a mean name to call someone. Imagine my embarrassment on the playground later.
As an adult, Valentine's Day has huge awkwardness potential. But Halloween and St. Patrick's Day have huge party potential, and I'm OK with that. We all work hard every single day (or something like that) and earn the right to have a good time every once in a while. This keeps everyone relaxed and functioning. And broke, in my case, but still, worth it.
