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Why Halloween Is So Popular – And So Important

Why Halloween Is So Popular – And So Important

Last updated on: October 21, 2026 at 3:00 am by John Beckett

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Why Halloween Is So Popular – And So Important 2026-10-20T17:15:28-06:00 John Beckett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Numerous sources say that Halloween is now the second most popular holiday in the United States, behind only Christmas. A few sources place it third, behind Thanksgiving. Regardless of where it ranks, Halloween is incredibly popular.

Why is that?

As much as I’d like to credit the popularity of Halloween to the growth of Paganism and witchcraft, I can’t. Pagans and witches remain a tiny minority in our wider society – we simply don’t have that much cultural influence. And while it has roots in the Pagan celebration of Samhain, Halloween is for the most part a modern secular American development.

I see five reasons why Halloween is so popular… and why it’s so important.

1. Halloween is fun

Let’s start with the obvious: Halloween is fun. How could a holiday that gives you permission to dress up, go to parties, and eat candy not be popular?

I loved Halloween as a kid. My family lived on a small farm in a rural area, so every Halloween we visited my cousin who lived in town and I went around his neighborhood with him and his friends. I loved the whole experience.

As an adult, sometimes I turn on the porch light and give out candy. Sometimes I go to parties. And sometimes I just turn on a classic horror movie or three. If you need a recommendation, I have several.

Whether you’re a kid or an adult, Halloween is fun… and we need more fun, especially in our current environment.

2. Halloween is for everyone

For all that Christmas is now mostly about giving and gathering, it remains a Christian holy day. And there’s a small but very vocal minority who insist it is only for Christians and that other celebrations of Midwinter are invalid. They’re wrong of course, but that doesn’t keep them from being annoying.

Meanwhile, Halloween is for everyone. Christian, Pagan, atheist, or none of the above, you’re welcome to participate. A quick survey of Patheos shows pro-Halloween articles from Catholics, Evangelicals, General Christians, and of course, Pagans. The only people who aren’t welcome are killjoy fundamentalists, and that’s because they choose to exclude themselves.

Halloween is one time of year when we say “everyone is welcome” and we really mean it.

Pirates of the Caribbean themed lawn decorations – 2021. Sadly, these neighbors moved away a couple years ago. They really went all out.

3. Halloween can be whatever you want it to be

Want to participate in trick or treating? Buy some candy and turn your porch light on. Want a party? You can probably find one, or if not, you can host one. Want someone else to do the work? Every year I see more and more public Halloween events, from haunted houses to immersive performances to Halloween-themed entertainment. There have been years when my paying job was so busy and so stressful all I could do was wear black and turn on a movie when I got home, but I still observed Halloween.

But if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. Don’t want kids ringing your bell? Leave your porch light off. Don’t like horror movies? Watch football. There are no obligations – no family trying to guilt you into traveling “home for the holidays” or to cook a feast of foods you can’t afford and don’t even like.

As a Pagan, sometimes my religious celebration of Samhain interferes with my secular celebration of Halloween. But Halloween is more than one night, and if – like this year – our ritual is on October 31, I’ve got plenty of other days to do the fun and scary stuff.

In a culture where doing your own thing is becoming ever more important, Halloween is happy to cooperate.

Halloween lawn decorations from 2025

4. Halloween lets us explore parts of ourselves we normally keep hidden

When I was a kid, the early October question was always “what are you going to be for Halloween?” Not “what costume do you want” or “what do you want to dress up as” but “what do you want to be?”

I wanted to be a vampire. Eight year old me knew he wasn’t a vampire, but for one night of the year I was able to dress like a vampire and have people interact with me like I was vampire.

Much has been made about the sexualization of Halloween, but so long as you’re not tarting up your tweens, this is a good thing. Our mainstream society may be highly sexualized, but that doesn’t mean all of us are. Here’s the one time you can wear something you would never allow yourself to wear the rest of the year, and if someone says anything “it’s just a costume.”

Do I need to remind everyone that costumes are not consent? Sexy costumes are permission to look, not to leer – and definitely not permission to touch.

Everyday can be Halloween if you’re goth or goth-adjacent. For everyone else, this is your chance to explore a part of yourself you normally keep hidden away.

At the House of Spirits “Haunted Cocktail Party”. Sadly, 2024 was their last year.

5. Halloween lets us explore death in a safe setting

Death and decay are as much a part of life as birth and growth. One we like and celebrate – the other we keep hidden away.

Until we can’t.

For all I wish my childhood had been different, one of the things my parents did right was to take me to funerals. It wasn’t a conscious choice – if they were going to the funeral of a relative or a friend of course they were taking their kids with them.

It helped normalize death for me. People lived, they got old, and then they died. Sometimes they died before they got old and that was tragic, but it happened. It was part of life. It is part of life.

Unlike what some of the fundamentalist killjoys say, Halloween doesn’t celebrate death. Rather, Halloween acknowledges death. It lets us look at death, think about death, and explore death.

And then we take our costumes off, turn the lights on, and start eating our candy. See, that wasn’t so scary after all.

So much of the fear of death is the fear of the unknown. You may say you believe in life after death – you may really and truly believe it. But death and what comes after are still a mystery. Halloween helps us acclimate ourselves to graveyards and coffins and tombstones and all the surroundings of death. And then when we encounter them for real, it’s not so scary – because we’ve encountered them before.

a silly graveyard still serves a purpose – 2021

Happy Halloween

May your pumpkins be bright, your candy sweet, and your cider tart… or sweet, if you prefer. Halloween is flexible like that.

Enjoy your exploration of those parts of yourself you keep hidden away. This may be your chance to crack open the door of a closet you didn’t realize you were in. Or you may decide you like the fantasy of something better than you like the reality of it. This is Halloween – either way is fine.

Sooner or later, death is coming for all of us. Our religious contemplations on death and what – if anything – comes afterwards are good and helpful. But so are the secular and sometimes silly explorations of death we have at Halloween. They help us learn that death is a part of life and we need not fear it.

Happy Halloween.

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