Pumpkins are lining the supermarket shelves, shop windows are being decorated with spider webs and skeletons, and costume shops are in their peak business season. It can all only mean one thing…
In honour of Halloween, we put out a survey to you, our wonderful diners to discover your thoughts on this spooky occasion.
With 66% of you being fans of this time of year, it seems that it’s more popular than not – but only just! 34% of you expressed that you don’t enjoy the holiday and most gave the reason of finding it pointless, while others find it purely commercial.
Originally, the point of dressing up for Halloween was to ward off spirits, since it’s believed that the veil between the dead and the living is thinnest and this time of year. Now, it is more commonly done for the fun of it – and the “scary” part of dressing up has become optional. However, 42% of you said that this was your favourite part!
Out of all of the dress-up options on our survey, the most popular was to dress up as a character from something, which is just another example of how Halloween is becoming more of a celebration of creativity and fun, and less about the scariness.
Is the art of putting a sheet over your head and cutting the holes out really dead?!
In terms of how people plan to spend Halloween, there was a fairly even split between watching horror films (19%), attending a party (22%), and taking part in some crafts (22%), be that pumpkin carving or baking. Whereas 14% of you said that you'd be trick or treating. This may tie in with a few of your comments about how trick or treating can create anxiety for some, especially as the “trick” element is something that people can take too seriously. However, others commented about being excited to receive trick or treaters, so it’s a mixed bag.
All in all, it’s fair to say that Halloween still leaves people feeling split. There were a lot of comments about just not liking the commercialisation of the day, while others found it to be inherently bad. On the flip side, a lot of people commented to say they enjoy the creativity and whimsy of it, and others just liked that it’s a fun thing to do with the kids.
However you choose to spend it, we hope you have fun!
