The Halloween holiday is October 31. Tens of millions of children will put on costumes that night and visit their neighbors’ homes. The neighbors will give them candy.
Americans are expected to spend about $9 billion on Halloween this year. Most of the money is spent on costumes, decorations and candy.
The National Retail Federation estimates that more than 175 million Americans are planning to take part in Halloween activities this year.
The online candy seller CandyStore.com looked through 11 years of data to learn which Halloween candy is most popular in each American state. The company found that, overall, Skittles, M&M's and Snickers are the most popular candies.
The favorite candy of Texans, though, is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. And candy corn came in first in the states of Alabama, Michigan, Idaho and New Mexico.
But children who live in Oregon may be among the luckiest in America; larger-size candy bars are a usual treat in the northwestern state.
What will children wear this Halloween? The National Retail Federation says princess, superhero and Batman costumes are the most popular choices among kids.
Adults, however, favor frightening characters, like witches and vampires.
Even America's animals are getting into the action. Dog and cat owners plan to dress their animal friends as pumpkins, hotdogs and bumblebees, the retail group says.
I’m Caty Weaver.
Dora Mekouar wrote this story for VOA News. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
____________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
costume - n. the clothes that are worn by someone (such as an actor) who is trying to look like a different person or thing
candy - n. a sweet food made with sugar or chocolate
decoration - n. something that is added to something else to make it look more appealing
witch - n. a woman who is thought to have magic powers
vampire - n. a dead person who leaves the grave at night to bite and suck the blood of living people
pumpkin - n. a large, round, orange vegetable used as food and sometimes as a decoration
hot dog - n. a small cooked sausage that is mild in flavor and is usually served in a long roll (called a hot dog bun)
bumblebee - n. a large, hairy kind of bee; (bee. a black and yellow flying insect that can sting and that is often kept in hives for the honey that it produces)
