by Leela Briggs
October 1 is now officially the start of “spooky season”. The excitement around Halloween happens every year, by people of all ages — unless you find out it’s in the middle of the week.
Everyone’s plans now have to be rearranged around their daily weekday schedules and wanting to celebrate this iconic holiday. Unlike other holidays, Halloween isn’t recognized as a holiday by schools or professional workplaces, so no one gets that day off. This then leads into those who want to celebrate it and those who don’t want to celebrate it clashing during the work week. Schools and offices are now divided based on religious or personal beliefs on the holiday.
If Halloween were always on a Saturday, then everyone could choose whether to stay home or to come out and celebrate. At schools or in offices there may be decorations or a small celebration of the holiday, but those who don’t believe in celebrating it will feel like an outcast if they choose not to participate in the festivities.
As a public school student, I notice that some parents have their kids stay home on Halloween because they are afraid of anything dangerous happening to them. This causes kids to be marked as absent due to the fact that schools aren’t closed and Halloween isn’t during the weekends. Those parents would comfortably be able to let their kids stay home if they knew that their kids weren’t missing a day of school. Having Halloween on a Saturday would also give those who do want to celebrate it the opportunity to fully celebrate it. You would be able to choose to celebrate it as early or as late as you want without having to go to work or school that morning and the morning after.
In conclusion, having Halloween on the last Saturday of October will give everyone more freedom on how they would want to spend this holiday.