export_ofoct.com

[00:00.67] October 31 is Halloween.

[00:06.25] But many Americans have been preparing for the holiday for weeks.

[00:12.89] And businesses are hoping for good profits from Halloween purchases.

[00:20.59] The National Retail Federation (N.R.F.) is the largest U.S. trade group representing sellers of material goods.

[00:33.34] It expects total Halloween spending in 2024 to reach about $11.6 billion.

[00:45.56] That sounds like a healthy amount, but it would be a drop from the year before.

[00:54.59] The N.R.F. says total Halloween spending in 2023 was a record-setting $12.2 billion.

[01:08.14] So, you might wonder: What are Americans buying for Halloween and how do they celebrate the holiday?

[01:19.83] Halloween traditions in America are linked to Celtic beliefs in ancient Britain.

[01:28.33] The Celts believed that spirits of the dead would return to their homes on October 31, the day of the autumn feast.

[01:41.61] Celts would build huge fires to frighten away any evil spirits that might return.

[01:51.70] People from Scotland and Ireland brought these ideas with them when they came to America.

[02:02.33] Some believed that spirits played tricks on people on the last night of October.

[02:13.49] In modern America, the holiday mostly belongs to children.

[02:18.80] After dark, children wear special clothing, called costumes. They often appear as frightening creatures like vampires, ghosts and witches.

[02:35.00] The children walk around their neighborhoods, knocking on doors of homes.

[02:41.64] When someone answers a door, the children yell “trick or treat.”

[02:49.08] If the people in the homes do not give them a sweet treat, the children may play a trick on them.

[02:59.17] Some of the purchases people make for Halloween include candy and costumes.

[03:07.67] This year, the N.R.F. expects the superhero character Spider-Man to be the most popular children’s costume.

[03:20.16] Children are not the only Americans in costumes on Halloween, however.

[03:27.86] Adults also dress up in costumes and attend Halloween parties, parades and other events.

[03:37.15] These celebrations often include costume competitions, with prizes for the most frightening, inventive or humorous costumes.

[03:51.77] Overall, the N.R.F. reports, total spending on costumes for Halloween 2024 is expected to reach a total of $3.8 billion.

[04:07.96] It says buyers will spend $3.5 billion on Halloween candy.

[04:15.94] Americans also enjoy decorating their homes for Halloween.

[04:22.57] People hang fake skeletons, witches, spiders and other scary things around their doors and from trees and bushes.

[04:35.86] They also cut scary faces into pumpkins and light them to create a strange glow.

[04:45.69] Some people do a little decorating, others do a lot, and still others do none at all.

[04:56.05] But, the N.R.F. says researchers estimate Americans will spend about $3.8 billion dollars to dress up their houses for Halloween this year.