Halloween, it falls every year, at the same time, but not in stores. It seems to be earlier and earlier that stores are displaying items for the annual occasions such as Halloween, Christmas and Easter. The big 3.
After a visit to a local Michaels store in Windsor, one thing I noticed right when I stepped inside, was Halloween on display. Now its just under 3 months away until the actual day, October 31st arrives. So why the early advertising? Now I don’t want to point out just one store in this, also contributing to the early displays are most other major superstores located in Canada, and I'm sure its not just in this country.
Today I received an email from a local resident in Windsor, commenting on how she personally feels rushed when occasions such as this are advertised way in advance. Just like Christmas, apparently after talking to people, it makes them feel rushed into getting stuff ready and buying gifts well ahead of time. Plus with kids, these days are rushed and hectic enough as it is. So why do stores advertise these events so early? After emailing a number of superstores, I received no reply, which was okay, and didn’t harm my research. I did talk to a former staff member who worked in this environment. I was informed that items are advertised and displayed in advance due to the company buying stock, and getting it early. From that response I simply added do they need to put it on display, or can they just store it somewhere until an appropriate time? As I expected, a confused answer was given, basically saying, ‘I don’t know’.
My second interest in this question, was the fact that I hear from certain people now that annually celebrated occasions such as Halloween, Christmas and Easter are over-rated. I tested a few things out that were playing on my mind, one of them was, to ask children what they like about Christmas and what it means to them. After doing research and asking a few people, the same response was given each time, ‘Presents and Gifts’. So is that all kids are taught in the world today? And I'll admit, when I was a child a few years ago, all I liked about Christmas was the gifts, all I liked about Halloween was getting dressed up and the candy, and all I loved about Easter was the Chocolate. I think many other older people believe that the true meaning behind all these occasions has been lost, and forgotten. Advertising showing off all these costumes, gifts, and chocolate eggs, months in advance, have only put one image into all the young minds today, and that is, what they see, is what they expect. It's a tough reality in the modern world, and how things have changed over the years. The sad thing is, time can never go back, and maybe this research and article will prove or at least provide additional information, that the history and purpose of these events, has been long lost and forgotten.
Article by DC
