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Bianca Gomez
Writing 2
Professor Scott Kneece
11 February 2016
Pumpkins make
Halloween. The night our parents checked our candy bags after trick-or-treating for
drugs and took all the Snickers, Starburst and Skittles for our safety. According to
Marketing Potential of Halloween for Retailers and Consumers written by Wadium
Strielkowski, Halloween might be the third most popular holiday (both according to peoples
preference and according to the amount of money spent) in North America. Over the years
Halloween has grown to become a phenomenon of a celebration in North America, showing
influence in the United States history and economy. The topic of Halloween can be researched
through the perspective of economics as well as through the perspective of history. However,
research through the economic periodical Marketing Potential of Halloween for Retailers and
Consumers is more effective because of its ability to take both an objective and subjective
perspective. By implementing a cultural interpretation of why the celebration has grown in
America, the economic periodical is better supported, and proves Halloween has an increasing
economic impact on the nation as it grows in celebration, through an interdisciplinary approach.
In comparison, the historical periodical Halloween by Ralph Linton, does not incorporate other
evidence outside of its discipline to support the argument of Halloween being derived from a
Druid celebration, making the periodical less credible.
According Google definitions, economics is a branch of knowledge regarding the
production, consumption, and the transfer of wealth. In comparison, history is a branch of

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knowledge that studies past events, in particular human affairs. By default economics is
considered to be a more objective discipline since it involves analyzing data though mathematics
and statistics. On the other hand, history tends to be a more subjective discipline because
individuals who kept record of important events tell the story of what happened and for
whatever reason often leave out actions or events. Because these two branches of knowledge
serve different purposes in society they thus use different approaches and methods in order to
gather and present evidence to their arguments and claims.
In specific cases, economics and history do rely on each other, for example, when
specifically studying the history of economics, or explaining the economic history of a business;
in cases like these is where the two subjects combine methodologies in order to support
statements. With respect to the topic of Halloween, it is interesting to note the history behind the
celebration and its growth, but it is more important to understand and analyze the economic
impact it has to the United States. The economics of Halloween is more important to analyze
because it affects the nation every year by creating jobs and influencing the market. This affects
individuals directly while the historical aspect of Halloween does not have as great as an impact
on their lives.
The two periodicals Halloween, by Ralph Linton, and Marketing Potential of
Halloween for Retailers and Consumers by Wadium Strielkowski, differ not only in discipline
but also format and methodology. Although both periodicals, Ralph Lintons article takes a
historical approach and Wadium Strielkowskis takes an economic approach- with the
incorporation of other fields of knowledge. Both articles revolve around the topic of Halloween
but support different arguments; Linton argues that Halloween is derived from a Druid
celebration and Strielkowski argues that as Halloween grows in celebration so does its effect on

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the economy. Supporting different arguments affects the forms of evidence used to solidify their
statements, as well as how they conduct their research.
In the economic periodical, there is the incorporation of charts, statistical data, and the
comparison of spending between two different time periods. This paper, Marketing Potential of
Halloween for Retailers and Consumers, also opens with an abstract in contrast to the historical
periodical. The abstract states what the author Wadium Strielkowski is proving and is then
expanded on throughout the remainder of the text. In addition, most sections of the paper are
brief and compacted with dates, statistics, mathematics, and additional data. This makes the
paper seem more objective than the historical periodical. Strielkowski calculations are also
explained in the paper, which leaves little room for the audience to question his arguments. If
another economist or person familiar with the subject wanted to argue Strielkowski, they could
cross check the calculations using the formula given. For example under the section Empirical
Model of the paper, Strielkowski incorporates a chart composed of his own calculations
regarding the Determinants of Halloween spending in U.S.. This chart has distinct terms
related to economics like GDP, inflation, and CPI, with respect to the impact Halloween has on
the United States economic market. These terms are specialized for the discipline of economics
and may not be understood by the general population. Other information incorporated to support
the economic data is an ethnographical research. In which Strielkowski, compares the
participation in activities related to Halloween between the years of 2005 and 2013, of adults
over 18 years old. This is taking a cultural anthropological take on the celebration, which is not
economics based, but still continues to support that argument that Halloween is being more
celebrated. Strielkowski uses this to link the idea that growing participation in celebrating
Halloween and its marketing potential have a linear relationship.

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On the other hand the historical periodical, Halloween, by Ralph Linton proposes a

different strategy to present evidence and support arguments. This paper is composed of lengthy
sections, incorporates images, and gives large time periods to reference to. Attempting to prove
that Halloween can be traced back to a Druid celebration, and has also had influence from other
cultures, Linton explains the evolution of the Americanized celebration of Halloween known
today. The writing conventions of historical periodicals also help Linton in accomplishing his
purpose. Each theme of the paper is separated by the first letter of a new paragraph in a larger
and bolder font than the previous paragraph. This helps him organize and expand his arguments,
making it clearer for the audience to see the development of Lintons theory. Since this paper
takes a historical approach, these conventions help in the explanation and understanding of the
evolution of Halloween.
The incorporation of images throughout the text of Halloween helps the audience
visualize the evolution of how the celebration developed and how it became so widely adopted.
For example, the first image in the paper is a sketch of children in costume trick-or-treating on
the right hand side, and on the left hand side there is an image of perhaps a historically related
activity. Linton attempts to relatea the origin of trick-or-treating to the procession of Muck
Olla. The use of lengthy sections benefits the authors discipline because going through history
cannot be done successfully with little explanation. In order to support the theory of Halloween
developing from Irish and Scottish celebrations, Linton must develop and elaborate his
statements in order to trace back and deliberately explain to his audience the origin of
Halloween. Doing so he goes through time periods starting with the earliest indication of a
celebration from which Halloween can be derived and continues forward. He incorporates entire
centuries, general dates, and years in order to prove how far the origin of Halloween traces back.

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However, Linton cannot give specific dates in his paper because of the nature of his discipline.
The further back he digs to explain the adoption of Halloween, the more questionable facts are.
This is why history is considered to be less conclusive.
Economic and historical approaches with respect to the topic of Halloween thus differ in
how data is collected and how the information is presented in order to make arguments.
Economics uses data that must be computed and analyzed, while taking history involves
extensive research of different cultural celebrations. History is also constraint to record keeping
from the past, which is much harder to prove completely accurate. The information presented is
also different; the economic approach is brief and compacted with data, while historical approach
involves lengthy reasoning to persuade the audience.
Although these two disciplines show different approaches in presenting evidence to
support their arguments, there are slight similarities the two periodicals have in their writing
conventions. For instance, both periodicals have sections divided either by a new idea, or theme.
In Marketing Potential of Halloween for Retailers and Consumers each section begins with a
bold heading signifying that the author has moved on to new idea to support his evidence.
Similarly in Halloween a new idea is divided by the first letter of the starting word of the
paragraph in a larger and bolder font. Although each periodical takes the perspective of a
different discipline, both papers agree that Halloween has grown to be a popular holiday in the
United States. The economic periodical not only shows how Halloween has impacted the
economy as the celebration grows, but also why the celebration is growing. Therefore the
economic periodical is more effective because of its ability to incorporate both a cultural and
economic perspective in comparison to the historical periodical, which only takes a cultural
perspective.

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What makes these two disciplines; history and economics different are their principles.

They are their own fields of knowledge, which helps society organize information and classify
topics based on subject. Economics is associated with the transfer of wealth while history is
associated with keeping record of what has happened in the past. And although both articles are
written to prove Halloween has grown as a celebration in the United States, they do so
differently because they are written with respect to their own disciplines. For instance Lintons
article is based the idea that the celebration of Halloween is derived from the Vigil of Samhain
and has gradually been influenced and adopted by different cultures, while Strielkowskis article
is based on the inclined economic impact Halloween has had as the celebration grows amongst
Americans.
The disciplinary approach that is thus most persuasive and effective in its writing practice
is economics. The periodical that takes the economic approach to Halloween is not only more
objective but also incorporates a subjective aspect by incorporating a cultural perspective on the
topic. Therefore is more effective than the historical approach, using mathematical and statistical
evidence to supports the claim that Halloween can now be only compared to Christmas as for
marketing potential and economic significance, as well as ethnographic research. By comparing
the respondents of Halloween activities between 2005 and 2013, it is clear for the audience to see
the growth in participation of the holiday form a perspective other than economics, while still
supports the argument. In comparison to Lintons periodical Halloween which solely relies on
a cultural approach, using large time periods to reference to. Furthermore it is more important to
understand how Halloween has impacted the economy as it affects those in the present and
future, versus understanding the history of Halloween and how it has impacted those in the past.

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Abstract
After researching the topic of Halloween through the perspective of two different fields, I have
developed a few questions. For instance, I would like to know how economist anticipate
Halloween to effect the market in the future, and also if Halloween is at all related to any other
holidays that are still celebrated today. Although unrelated, I also thought it would be interesting
to inquire how Halloween has effected cinema. This may tie in to Halloween affecting the
economy since movie spending can be considered a Halloween activity. The methodology I
would adopt would be to research how much capital scary movies bring in around the months of
Halloween, and find if there is a growing trend or not. Also, it would be interesting to see if the
number of scary moves out around that time increases as Halloween becomes celebrated more.
Work Cited
Strielkowski, Wadim. "Marketing Potential of Halloween for Retailers and Consumers." World
Applied Sciences Journal 31.5 (2014): 873-877.
Linton. "Halloween." Scientific American 185.4 (1951):62-66.