Halloween is celebrated in many parts of the world, but it’s not a universal holiday. One country where the festivities get a mixed reaction is Australia. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.
A columnist for Australia’s Fairfax Media captures the spirit of the season with a question.
“Does Australia Care About Halloween?”
75 percent of nearly a thousand people responding to an online poll say no.
A Facebook page labeled “Halloween is UnAustralian” has gathered some 8,000 likes.
Still, the day seems to be getting more local support than it used to.
A reporter for Sydney’s “Daily Telegraph” says some fear the increasing adoption of Halloween is “another lurch towards us celebrating Thanksgiving, the Super Bowl, and Donald Trump’s birthday.”
The Australian Associated Press quotes an American studies lecturer who says “Halloween has become a part of Australian culture.”
Woolworths has conducted research in this area.
Not the American department store version of Woolworths, but the huge Australian grocery store chain better known as “Woolies.”
Woolies found that seven in ten Australian households with kids between five and 14 will celebrate Halloween this year.
In some areas of the country, you can signal that you’re part of the trick-or-treat world by placing a balloon outside your door.
And then there are the costumes.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports a shortage of one particular item across the country: masks of Donald Trump.
