I can’t for the life of me figure this one out. Since moving to Central PA 2 yrs ago, I’ve come to terms with the fact that one thing is certain here, Halloween is NOT October 31st. What I can’t figure out is why? Each town schdules There own “Halloween”, some had it Wed., some will be tonight(10/29),most are tomorrow night(10/30). Now I’ve heard from some friends in NJ that some towns down there are doing it Sat. night because of religious reasons, 10/31 is a Sun., OK, that I can kinda understand I guess. But this is every year. Not only do the schedule the day, they schedule the time as well. 6-8 pm. I’ve asked everyone I’ve come in contact with. no one knows why. not the slightest idea.
It just seems odd to me to have to ask or buy the paper to find out when Halloween is. My calender says Oct. 31st… so what’s the problem?? Do any of you guys have this bizarre alteration of the holiday near you? Does anyone have any ideas why? Or any ideas who I could ask that would no why? I’m really curious…
so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts. what’s so amazing about really deep thoughts? Tori Amos
Halloween is officially October 31st. Really, it is.
There’s an awful lot of cities & towns, though, that schedule Halloween events prior to the day, mostly for safety reasons. If you live in a city with a serious crime problem (like mine) you’ll see this Halloween rescheduling a lot. I live a few blocks from an elementary school, and every year, they have a Halloween bash for the kids. It’s been wildly successful, and the kids aren’t on the streets. I always enjoyed trick-or-treating, and someday I’ll take my daughter somewhere where she can experience it too. Although my neighborhood itself is quite safe, there’s no trick-or-treaters anymore because of the Halloween party I mentioned earlier. Kind of a bummer, but hey, everyone knows where the kids are now!
Excuse the typos, I took the day off so my brain is kinda on standby. And no I am positive it has nothing to due with Monday being a school day. Last year Halloween was on a Sat. “they”(?) decided it was gonna be Fri. around here. The year before that it was on a Wednesday here, Friday to the rest of the country. And again some things I can understand, like an 8 pm curfew. But 6-8 pm?
When i was a kid I’d be off the bus from school with a pillowcase in hand ready to load up!! And if it was a Sat., Whew, mom made sure we had plenty of toothpaste.
I really am puzzled, but yes I am glad they trick or treat, whenever Halloween is…
Here in Schenectady, NY, Halloween is usually October 31 except when it falls on a weekend. Then localities indicate which day they’ll be considering Halloween. This year, it seems to be Saturday, but people are holding events Friday and there will probably be some trick or treating Sunday.
Is it just me or does this practice seem a bit off of why Halloween is celebrated anyway? Tell me this, if they move Halloween, are they also going to move All Saint’s Day?
“Only when he no longer knows what he is doing, does the painter do good
things.” --Edgar Degas
Off the bus, and out trick or treating?? Heck we don’t even buy our candy til it is almost dark! Most people wouldn’t even be home yet, what fun is trick or treating in the afternoon?
btw, I’ve never heard of having Halloween on a day other than…Halloween.
I don’t know if this is “the reason” or not (there are probably several reasons), but it’s something to consider:
Halloween is traditionally a time when more pranks get pulled than on most other years. Now, harmless pranks on your friends are one thing, but I’m talking about stupid, destructive, randomly malicious acts. And there’s built-in cover, because EVERYONE’S walking around in costume!
Anything you can do to help distinguish between the candy extortionists and those pursuing less socially acceptable activities is a good thing. Limiting the time period during which trick or treating is allowed is one way of doing this.
I also like the idea of candy extortion being separated from Halloween proper, just because while kids really don’t care if they get the candy on the 28th, or 29th, or 30th, or 31st (in fact, probably the earlier the better), the kind of people that are using Halloween or Samhain as an excuse to cause trouble generally DO care what day it is.
I’ve never heard of that moving-Friday-to-Wednesday business before but I guess some of these control freaks and spoilsports are worse than others. These are the same people who didn’t like yield signs so replaced all the ones in my town with stops, and many of the stops with four-ways. Hallowe’en by the way doesn’t really start until sundown the 31st (and then it continues until the next sunset.) I think the Web is just the place to start a national movement to stop the mistreatment of our nation’s youth by the misdating of Halle E’en.
