Every year, on the 31st of October people all across the country, and several others, dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating. This year Halloween is on a Thursday. Many will go out to a party and have to return to school or work the following day.

This seems to be an issue that only the holiday of Halloween faces\; Thanksgiving, Easter, and Memorial Day don’t have set dates. Instead, they’re set on specific days of the week. How come? Why not change Halloween to be on the last Saturday of every month?

According to Change.org, there’s a petition trying to do this exact thing. Many concerned parents and desperate children are trying to see that this change pulls through. As of now, 150,875 people have signed\; they are hoping to get to 200,000 by Halloween. Countless parents’ concerns regarding injury and inconvenience with school the next day.

Injuries are not out of the ordinary on Halloween. There have been a reported 3,800 Halloween related injuries each year. Most of which are caused by trick-or-treating in the dark. If Halloween was changed to take place on the last Saturday of October, children would have the opportunity to trick-or-treat earlier in the day. Doing so would make it easier for drivers to see children on the roads, for parents to supervise their children, and for children to have more time to enjoy the full day of Halloween.

Not only are parents concerned with the safety of their children, but they are also worried about their children having to go to school the following day.

One parent explains that she would love to not “have the concern about the kids home having to go to school the following day.”

Scheduling Halloween for the middle of the week isn’t just disadvantageous for the children, but also the parents. Countless Halloween parties are thrown each year, leaving countless adults unsuited for work the next day.

Many students here at Bernards High School have these same concerns.

Sophomore Marlene Ortiz, shares that changing Halloween to the last Saturday would “allow more people to enjoy Halloween with a party and not worry about going to school the next day.”

She’s not the only one\; a senior, Jenna McHale agrees that it would be much more convenient in order to “enjoy [her and many more students’] weekends.”

All students at our high school would benefit from the simple change of the day of Halloween.

What better way to solve this problem than to eliminate the entire problem, and reschedule Halloween for the last Saturday of the month. Parents, children, and adolescents would all benefit from the quick fix─ so what’s stopping us?

For centuries, Halloween has been celebrated across the globe. The holiday was introduced to America in the 1930’s by Gaelic immigrants and since then, Halloween has been celebrated every year on the 31st. Halloween is celebrated on that day because of the day that follows. This day is known as the Christians holy day of All Hallows’ Day. Halloween is celebrated the night before as a day of giving, thus why millions of children and families go trick – or – treating each year. This is also why many may hear Halloween be referred to as Hallows’ eve.

But as of recently, many have been proposing that the holiday date should be changed. Just like how Thanksgiving is the last Thursday of November, Halloween would be the last Saturday of October. Since Halloween is not a federal holiday, the president cannot officially move the date of Halloween.

Senior Emily Silva said, “Halloween is a holiday that has been celebrated for years to change it we would lose so much tradition.”

This has lead to a proposal of a new holiday, National Trick – or – Treat day. The holiday would take place on the last Saturday of every October starting this year. But this is completely unrealistic because there is nothing stopping anyone from celebrating Halloween whenever they please. This year Halloween falls on a Thursday and because of that many people will wait to throw costume parties and get togethers on weekends.

Even if the president were to decide to only have Halloween on a Saturday, there would not be enough incentive to have people stop celebrating on the 31st.

Many argue that by having Halloween on a Saturday it would be safer for children as most parents can accompany their children on a Saturday rather than a week day. In 2017 there were only 7,450 injuries according to the National Safety Council. With that being said, only 9% of those injuries were children related. Out of the 41 million trick – or – treaters that year this number is extremely small. But, if the right precautions are taken then there is absolutely no reason to change the date. By parents being with their children in a safe neighborhood at houses you know and trust\; and making sure to check the child’s candy, then the chances of something terrible happening will lower immensely.

Senior Madison Rose said, “It is all about precautions. If parents look after their children then there shouldn’t be any problems. Halloween is also celebrated on weekends too so there really is not a reason to change it.

In today’s world many children go trick – or – treating more than once, so if a parent cannot go with their child on the 31st there are already other days.

In a survey of 45 students, 26 students said yes to having gone trick – or – treating multiple times throughout the Halloween season as a child.

Senior Jessie Prusina said, “As a child there has never been a time where I didnt go trick – or – treating just once so changing the Halloween date is not needed as there are other options like trunk or treat if parents cannot take their children out on the 31st.”

Ultimately, by officially changing the date of Halloween we lose tradition that has been going on for centuries.