Cultural Appropriation of Death Celebrations: The Case of Halloween

Researchers have explored Halloween as a consumption ritual (Belk 1990; Levinson et al. 1992) with both carnivalesque (Belk 1994) and community building properties (Harris 2006; McKechnie and Tynan 2008). We find that newly adopted Halloween rituals are an under-researched consumption phenomenon, especially within the global context. One exception is McKechnie and Tynan’s (2008) study on British consumers’ celebrations. We respond to their call for further investigation on the diffusion of North American Halloween celebrations by conducting a qualitative study of Swedish Halloween celebrations. In doing so, we seek a deeper understanding of consumer perceptions of foreign celebrations, and the dimensions of their readiness to adopt unfamiliar practices. Through qualitative research methods including in-depth interviews, participant observations and open-ended questionnaires we seek to answer the following: Why is death celebrated? What fascinates consumers to dress up as “dead” or “dark” figures? What motivates Swedes to adopt yet another holiday? During the 2012 and 2013 fall seasons, we collected two rounds of open-ended questionnaires from High School students (96 in total), in-depth interviews with families (adults and children) and participant observation at Halloween themed resorts, trick or treating events and Halloween parties (children/family oriented). The data analysis entailed thematic coding through individual iterative hermeneutic analysis (Thompson 1997). In our findings we discuss four emergent themes: Embracing versus Resisting, Identity Play, Media and Retail Facilitation of Ritual Adoption, and Protecting Kids.