Dr. James A. Surrell, Journal columnist

In just 9 days, on Friday, October 31st, we will have our annual celebration of Halloween in the USA. Of course, on Halloween, there will be many kids out doing their trick-or-treating, and will also be carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, visiting haunted attractions, sharing scary stories, watching scary Halloween movies, and likely having fun at many other Halloween events as well.

Halloween originated in Europe, and many centuries ago, it was a religious holiday. It is reported that Halloween in the USA today occurred as a result of the mass Irish and Scottish immigration to the USA in the 19th century. Halloween was then gradually assimilated into mainstream society and by the first decade of the 20th century it was being celebrated coast to coast in the USA. Eventually, Halloween went on to become a popular major USA holiday event that continues to this day.

Halloween has a significant financial impact throughout the USA. Americans spend many billions of dollars for Halloween every year. This is based on spending on costumes, decorations, and candy. This spending creates many seasonal jobs. Following is the projected spending breakdown for 2025.

Total 2025 Halloween spending is estimated to be more than ten billion dollars. This is based on spending estimates for the following items: Halloween Costumes = $3.8 billion, Decorations = $3.8 billion, Candy = $3.5 billion, and Halloween Greeting cards = $0.5 billion. This consumer Halloween spending for 2025 is projected to be a 13% increase over 2024. The average American is projected to spend $296 for our 2025 Halloween celebration.

Of course, we adults have a significant obligation to make sure our children who are out trick-or-treating stay safe and are respected as they work to fill their trick-or-treat bags with candy and other treats. Many kids will be out crossing streets in numerous neighborhoods and we all need to be very, very careful if we choose to be out driving on Halloween.

OK, I can’t let you off without some silly Halloween jokes and I hope you find them to be more of a Halloween treat than a Halloween trick.

How much did the Halloween pirate pay to have his ears pierced? A Buccaneer.

What do moms like to dress up as on Halloween? Mummies.

How do you fix a hole in your Halloween pumpkin? Use a pumpkin patch.

Which side of the pumpkin should you put the face on? The outside.

Why was the Halloween skeleton afraid to cross the road? Because he had no guts.

Why did the skeleton cross the road? He was looking for an auto dealer “body” shop.

You never see Halloween witches as identical twins because if they were identical twins, you would not be able to tell which Witch was which.

I sincerely wish you and all your family members and all the trick-or-treating kids a fun and very safe Halloween.