CALIFORNIA BUSINESS MINUTE
Halloween
10-28-11
Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.
The observance of Halloween, which dates back to Celtic rituals thousands of
years ago, has long been associated with images of witches, ghosts and vampires.
Over the years, Halloween customs and rituals have changed dramatically. Today,
Halloween is celebrated many different ways, including wearing costumes, children
trick or treating, carving pumpkins, and going to haunted houses and parties.
According to the US Census Bureau, the estimated number of potential trick-or-
treaters in 2010 — children 5 to 14 — across the United States. Of course, many
other children — older than 14 and younger than 5 — also go trick-or-treating.
The average American will spend $53 for Halloween, down from $73 in 2010,
according to the American Express Spending & Savings Tracker.
While goblins and ghosts are still good standbys for Halloween costumes, The
National Retail Federation predicts the top costume for young girls for the
seventh consecutive year will be princesses, and thanks to the popularity of
Johnny Depp's portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow, pirates for boys. Animal and
bug costumes are also expected to be a hit. Yahoo.com revealed some unusual
choices this year. Yahoo said actor Charlie Sheen, whose highly publicized
departure from the hit TV series "Two and a Half Men" kept him in the headlines,
was among the years' most controversial costume searches.
Meanwhile, the US produces over 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins. Illinois produced
an estimated 427 million pounds of the vined orange gourd the most in the nation.
However, California, New York and Ohio are also major pumpkin-producing states,
each with an estimate of more than 100 million pounds.
For those with a sweet tooth, there are 1,177 manufacturing establishments in the
nation that produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2009, employing 34,252 people.
California led the nation in the number of chocolate and cocoa manufacturing
establishments, with 135, followed by Pennsylvania, with 111. Additionally,
there are 409 Number of U.S. establishments that manufactured non-chocolate
confectionary products in 2009. These establishments employed 16,974 people.
California led the nation in this category, with 45 establishments.
I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.
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