Should Minnesota Join the Push to Move Halloween?

There is a national push to move the official date we celebrate Halloween each fall, and this year is a prime example of why Minnesota should join the movement.

Halloween has been celebrated for a looonnnggg time now on the last day of October, the 31st, the day before All Saints Day on November 1st. And dressing up in costumes became a thing on Halloween, this Newsweek story says, thanks to a custom that dates back several thousand years, to Celtic times.

So, yeah, there's a lot of tradition involved. But more recently, though, there's been a push to get Halloween moved to the last Saturday in October, no matter the actual date. This year, it would have been last Saturday, October 26th, though there are years when the last Saturday might actually land on October 31st-- as it did back in 2020.

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In fact, according to Newsweek, there was an official Change.org online petition that has been collecting signatures to move Halloween officially. The story says the thinking is that celebrating Halloween on the last Saturday in October would make it safer-- and easier-- for both kids and parents to celebrate, instead of trying to squeeze all that Trick-or-Treating and other Halloween celebrating in during the week.

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I'd be OK with moving the 'official' designation of Halloween here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Wouldn't that be easier than doing Halloween on Thursday this year? It seems like most Halloween parties took place last Saturday anyway, and having Trick-or-Treat hours on a Saturday sure seems easier than when it's during the week.

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Perhaps the key to making this proposal work, though, is flexibility. Because, THIS year, with Halloween falling on a Thursday, it seems kind of early to have already celebrated the holiday last Saturday, October 26th. Maybe we could also celebrate Halloween on the first Saturday in November (which this year is this Saturday, November 2nd.) This would also apply to years when October 31st falls on Wednesday.

Either way, it's not happening, however. As of Monday, October 28th, the official petition only has just over 158,000 signatures on it-- but needs to get to 200,000 signatures before any official action is taken. So, no, Halloween won't be moving again this year.