Meeting Halloween in the Minneapolis airport I can’t remember the last time we were in the United States in October and November. Perhaps that’s why we were unprepared to discover just how Halloween has taken this country by storm force. If the garish yard decorations we’ve seen while traveling this fall are any indication, America is in love with spooks, goblins, scarecrows, pumpkins, and cobwebs! I’d thought those were to be swept away quickly—before anyone could see them and figure out that housekeeping isn’t one of my favorite pastimes. Instead, I’ve seen them artistically draped over the counters of fast food restaurants, displayed at a post office, and decorating bushes in even nicely landscaped yards with the same kind of pride and enthusiasm as a young teenage girl going on her first date with the most popular guy in the class.
But I’m not the only one who’s surprised. The man next door commented, a wry smile lighting his face, “This is the first time I’ve swept away real cobwebs in order to put up fake ones!”
Interestingly, we happened to be flying on October 31. We were greeted at the airport by the helpful staff of Northwest Airlines, each one sporting a Halloween costume and/or interesting Halloween makeup. This was only the beginning of the Halloween “parade” we discovered as we moved further into the airport. It was a surprise to me that costumes hadn’t been banned in the interest of security—the reason one hears for every prohibition and many questionable laws in the United States today. After all, you never know what could be stowed under a tall, black witch’s cap.
By the very next day, however, Halloween was receding into the background. In a feverish atmosphere, people were snapping up the half-off Halloween merchandise as eagerly as if their lives depended upon it. You can be sure their homes and yards will be the talk of the neighborhood next year!
Two days later, Halloween had disappeared like a ghost. In its place, Christmas had magically appeared in stores everywhere—well, the Christmas of evergreen trees, lights, tinsel, decorations, wrapping paper, Santas (edible, display models, and stuffed toy replicas), and all other paraphernalia associated with the commercialism of Christmas. As if attempting to coax shoppers into the Christmas spirit, “Silent Night” was being played over the store’s PA system. When Bernie commented to a Wal-Mart employee that it seemed Christmas had arrived rather early, she shrugged her shoulders and said, “You’d better get used to it.”
I can’t help but wonder what will materialize in the stores on December 26. While I’ve not seen any merchandising plans for 2009, I have no doubt about the strategy that will be employed: tempt customers to spend more money they don’t really have for things they don’t really need in order to fill their oversized homes—homes owned by banks that had to be bailed out for extending credit to individuals whose own parents wouldn’t have vouched for their financial well being. Excuse me for being honest, but I can’t help but wonder what’s going on in America these days.
