Trick or Treat?

Halloween has come and gone again for another year. The annual opportunity to dress up, drink too much and eat far too many sweets. But, this traditionally Americanized time of year is regarded in the UK as a nuisance for many, a form of glorified begging. Many however, do decorate the outsides of their homes to indicate 'trick-or-treaters' are welcome and other houses are sometimes avoided. But at the end of the day, the scale of celebration is never as large as that of the United States.

But, I have to wonder. Is the celebration of Halloween in the UK an indication of the increasing spread of US media throughout the world? It would certainly seem that way to me.