U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for October 31: Halloween

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

HALLOWEEN

Profile America — Monday, October 31st. There's an excellent chance that today is an occasion deeply revered by young children and the nation's candy makers. According to ancient Celtic tradition, Halloween — the evening before All Saints Day — is a time of haunting by ghosts. Halloween has come a long way from pagan practices to "trick or treat!" Today's prank and costume-filled observance goes back about a century in the U.S., and giving the disguised young visitors to the doorstep some candies has been a major part of the ritual. This is an important boost to the nation's more than 1,600 chocolate and non-chocolate confectionary manufacturers, along with some 3,370 candy and nut stores. Chocolate sales alone amount to nearly $14 billion annually. You can find more facts about America's people, places and economy, from the American Community Survey, at www.census.gov.

Sources:
Halloween story/accessed 7/14/2016: http://www.halloweenhistory.org/ 
Candy data: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff02.html

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu). 

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

Related Links

http://www.census.gov

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