Halloween is hijacked by giant orange US vegetables

Published on Saturday 28 October 2006 00:23

THE days when glowing turnip lanterns grinned out from the windows of Scottish homes on Halloween are becoming a thing of the past as new figures show pumpkin sales are at their highest ever.

The bright orange vegetable is traditionally used in the United States and Canada to make jack-o'-lanterns - which are placed at windows or on doorsteps as a sign that trick or treaters are welcome.

But Britons have embraced this American import and sales of pumpkins are expected to reach 2.2 million this year, compared with 2 million in 2005.

Some supermarkets say sales of pumpkins are up by more than 20 per cent this year and pumpkin growers say demand across the country has risen by at least 10 per cent.

Marks & Spencer confirmed sales are 10 per cent higher this year compared with last year.

Meanwhile Tesco claimed that its pumpkin sales were up by 20 per cent, with the extra large variety - weighing more than 10lb - a favourite for carving spooky Halloween faces into.

Neil Warden, sales manager of Barfoots, in West Sussex, one of the country's biggest suppliers of the vegetable, said pumpkin sales were up by about 10 per cent.

He said: "There are more pumpkins this year. Trick-or-treating is more popular, which helps sales. Halloween is celebrated more than it used to be."

But along with pumpkins, the American tradition for trick-or-treating has come to dominate the evening along with the rising popularity of US-style Halloween celebrations in Britain.

The days when children went out guising, dressed as a ghost flitting from door to door, singing songs or telling jokes in return for a handful of sweets or an apple, are in decline.

Nowadays, trick-or-treaters expect to be given sweets or gifts by householders in return for a promise not to bombard their homes with eggs or toilet roll.

According to Professor Hugh O'Donnell, who specialises in the comparative analysis of popular cultures at Glasgow Caledonian University, the rising popularity of Halloween in its American form in the UK has come through cinema.

"One of the main points where it has come to us is through the Halloween horror movie series of the 1970s, which is packed with jack-o'-lanterns and trick-or-treaters. But it has been sold back to us by America as a commercial idea, rather than being what it used to be, the Celtic New Year.

"It's basically a chance for people to get dressed up, have a good time, but also spend some money," said Prof O'Donnell.

Glasgow Caledonian University will hold its first International Conference on Halloween next week, chaired by Prof O'Donnell, to examine "its increasing importance as both a cultural and an economic phenomenon".

However, Prof O'Donnell said the dominance of US traditions had not erased Scots ones: "You still get people using turnips and where I live the children still sing and tell jokes. I think it's just another layer of traditions rather the loss of others."

Celtic origins

HALLOWEEN'S origins lie in the Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the new year when ghosts of the dead would return to earth.

It was only in the 7th century that the Christians adopted the festival as All Saints Day - or All Hallow's Eve - to honour the dead.

The use of turnip lanterns - originally to ward off devils - was introduced to the US by Scots and Irish immigrants.