Thousands sign petition to permanently move Halloween to Saturday
There's a nationwide push underway to change Halloween forever.
It's always been celebrated on October 31, but now a lot of people are petitioning to change that.
It's called the “Saturday Halloween Movement.” The idea is to move the holiday to the last Saturday of October, rather than October 31, which can sometimes fall on a weekday.
At last check there were already close to 45,000 signatures on the petition.
The Rosedale neighborhood has long been known as one of the best in Austin for celebrating the spookiest holiday of the year. With decorations galore, Halloween is a well thought out event for neighbors there and 2018 is no different. “It's a very big deal in the neighborhood, both for the adults and the kids,” said Kelly Bremer who lives in the neighborhood.
“We always run out of candy and we get lots of people,” Bremer’s neighbor, David Hamburger, added.
The Halloween tradition dates back thousands of years originally to a Celtic Festival where people wore costumes to keep ghosts away, and later All Hallows' Eve, the night before the Catholic Festival All Saints Day.
“I didn't even know that. That's what I say to people,” Bremer said.
This year the Halloween and Costume Association, is petitioning President Trump to move Halloween to the last Saturday of October for a “safer, longer, stress-free celebration.”
“I would vote for that if that was on a ballot,” said Bremer.
“This is actually the first time I've heard about it, and I haven't really thought about it, but I kind of feel like, no, Halloween is on Halloween,” Hamburger said.
“I think it'd be great if it was on a weekend. I think it would really make life a lot easier for working moms especially,” said Casey Burack, who supports the idea.
The Saturday Halloween Movement petition claims there are "3,800 Halloween-related injuries each year" and "82 percent of parents don't use high visibility aids" on their kids' costumes, like glow sticks or reflective tape. They feel children would be safer trick-or-treating during the day, which would require it fall on a weekend.
Although, the main argument from parents seems to focus more on how the holiday celebration affects schedules.
“It can be a late night sometimes, and they're crabby in the morning, and school starts very early here, so I would totally love if it was always on a weekend,” Bremer said.
“My kids are going to stay up till a million o’ clock, and they'll totally have a sugar hangover tomorrow and be in terrible shape, and they might as well do that on a Sunday instead of a school day, but it's Halloween,” Hamburger said.