The Guardian wants Britain to adopt Thanksgiving and "hand the ghastliness of the imported Halloween back to the Americans". Won't happen. You know why? Thanksgiving is strictly cultural, not commercial. Those aspects of America that daily seem to be absorbed by Britain and Ireland are those for which the bottom line is king. There's a profit motive.
Halloween has become "Americanized" simply because there's money to be made adopting the American model. Store-bought costumes (for adults too!) and loads of candy, etc. are now part of Halloween on this side of the Atlantic. This is not because British and Irish people wanted to be like Americans, but because businesses here realized there was money to be made promoting the "American" Halloween. Other than the chance to sell a few turkeys, Thanksgiving offers no such opportunity.
