# You can cancel Halloween?



## remylass (Sep 18, 2008)

My mom lives in a small town. She moved there several years ago. In 2003, Halloween was on a Friday. On the Tuesday before, they announced that they were cancelling trick or treating Friday night and moving it to Thursday, Oct. 30th so it wouldn't interfere with the high school football game. 

Many people in town were mad about it, but it still happened. I just found out they are considering doing it again this year! 

This is just so WRONG!


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## Doomsday Cult Leader (Mar 21, 2007)

Many communities do that, they set the hours and sometimes day of trick or treating. Mine does, and so far they've made good decisions. I'm sure our local high school would have simply rescheduled the game though!


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

What happens if they say screw the town and do it anyways? You can't move a holiday, it's on the calendars for crying out loud.


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## GothicCandle (Mar 26, 2007)

Thats stupid. Just plain stupid. If I were the TOTing age I would go TOTing on the correct date and ignore what the town says.


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

Does she live in Texas? Football rules all down there.


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## Alice (Sep 26, 2008)

I'm gonna list that under things that are really messed up.


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## Moon00 (Oct 7, 2007)

Where I live Trick or Treat has always been on the last Sunday of October rather than actually on Halloween (unless that's when it happens to fall). In a way it's good because it prevents TOT from being on a weekday. But it would have been nice if they had at least scheduled it on the last Friday or Saturday rather than on a school night.


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## HalloweenZombie (Jul 22, 2007)

Um...Halloween comes first. Football second. These people need to get their priorities straight.


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Moon, I'm surprised they choose a Sunday at all. But yeah if they were gonna choose a specific day of the week (Thanksgiving style), then ya Friday or Saturday would have made more sense. Keeps kids off the street on a school night, doesn't ever conflict with church day, etc.

I mean I know states and towns have their own autonomy at one level or another. But do they really have the right to change a holiday and make it different than the rest of the country or world for that matter?

To quote Lo Pan from Big Trouble in Little China - "Now this really pisses me off to no end!"


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## remylass (Sep 18, 2008)

Spooky1 said:


> Does she live in Texas? Football rules all down there.


Illinois actually.

I just had no idea such things happened.


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## DeathTouch (Sep 6, 2005)

It could be worse. They might be moving "House" to a different time. LOL


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## spideranne (Jul 17, 2006)

Used to live in central Ohio and each city set their own trick or treat times so one city might be on Oct. 30 from 6-9 and another on the 29th from 5-8, etc. When we first moved there I thought it was odd, but then you work the system and go trick or treating in different cities each night and really haul in a good take.


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## Cassie7 (Sep 16, 2007)

There was talk of moving ToT night here at one time and hubby and I discussed it and decided without hesitation. We run our haunt only one night a year and that night is Halloween night, Oct 31. If the community wants to skip our haunt, that's their choice. Our show will go on as planned.

We often have friends and family flying in from out of state to be here for it and every one puts in for vacation over Halloween. No way will we budge on this.

You never hear talk of moving Christmas, Easter, or any other holiday for that matter. Commercially, Halloween is second only to Christmas. It's a holiday that deserves more respect.


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## Moon00 (Oct 7, 2007)

Terrormaster said:


> I mean I know states and towns have their own autonomy at one level or another. But do they really have the right to change a holiday and make it different than the rest of the country or world for that matter?
> 
> To quote Lo Pan from Big Trouble in Little China - "Now this really pisses me off to no end!"


Exactly, it doesn't make sense to change it. Like Cassie7 said you don't see them changing or moving around other Holidays like this.



spideranne said:


> Used to live in central Ohio and each city set their own trick or treat times so one city might be on Oct. 30 from 6-9 and another on the 29th from 5-8, etc. When we first moved there I thought it was odd, but then you work the system and go trick or treating in different cities each night and really haul in a good take.


I live in north east Ohio and we would do the same thing as kids. We would end up going trick or treating like 3 or 4 times since so many cities and towns had different dates and times.


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## HauntedHacienda (Sep 16, 2008)

Amen for ALL Replies about the Ridiculousness of Moving Halloween!
Here, we actually have to Compete with the City nearest us for TOT'ers and make ours Way Better of a Safe Haunt than theirs! 
At least we give some Whimsical, and Visual/Acoustic Interest with ours.
Ours may be Softer than some Haunts, but still as Spooky this year as the Big one in the main City below ours.


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## beelce (Jul 21, 2007)

I don't like this willy nilly change of a tradition....The community we live in does this...BLAH


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## Don of the Dead (Aug 17, 2005)

I'd burn the town down.

but thats just me.


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## Aelwyn (Jul 7, 2008)

I remember in middle school when Hallowe'en fell on Sunday. They pushed TOTing back to Saturday because the Churches in the city wanted City Council to. Much uproar!!!! I doubt they'd try that again.

Get a picket going outside the football game.


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## marcus132 (Oct 18, 2007)

Several years ago one of my friends asked what night the trick or treaters would be coming. I was like, "Uh, on Halloween night? Is this a joke?"

It turns out he grew up in a community that has these planned trick or treat nights, and the concept of just doing it on Halloween night by default was new to him. Bizarre.


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## artsymom83 (Jul 22, 2008)

Sounds like the town where I grew up... that little rinky-dink town cares about nothing BUT high-school football. If there were an asteroid that would hit the middle of the field at 9 PM on a Friday night they would still play the game. It's just as bad as in the movie "Varsity Blues". 
But anyways, changing Halloween to any date BESIDES Oct. 31st? Good grief! Instead of small-town government trying to make decisions for everyone, why not let people think for themselves? People can choose to go to a game or to go TOTing. I'm sorry, but I just get tired of elected officials trying to be my babysitter and moving Halloween just irks me to no end!


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## halinar (Sep 11, 2008)

Sounds like a great opportunity to double dip then!
Thursday and Friday.


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## rottincorps (Jun 1, 2008)

AND I THOUGHT CA. WAS MESSED UP!Only once it happened and that was back in 1971 They moved it from a Thursday to a saturday only in 
one aria, So we went to that area one night ( Happens that's where we were moving)and the next night back to our old house TWO NIGHTS IN ONE YEAR! dam that was great.


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## dna1990 (Jul 18, 2008)

Football does rule here. But there have never been any actual 'planned' or announced changes to TOTing. People just go multiple nights...simple.

We always have better turnouts for midweek Oct 31s. On weekends, there are too many parties or commerical haunts that attract folks.

This year with Friday night football and the lack of time change...who knows what it will be like. We will be accepting visitors Oct 26 - Nov 2.


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## Toktorill (Sep 15, 2007)

Its always Halloween on the 31st here- when people think it's too late to hand out candy, they lock their doors and turn off their lights. Most people stay "open" until 11:30/12:00. Trick or Treating starts as soon as school lets out.

Sports? On the 31st, Halloween is king. I love this community.


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## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

Toktorill said:


> Its always Halloween on the 31st here- when people think it's too late to hand out candy, they lock their doors and turn off their lights. Most people stay "open" until 11:30/12:00. Trick or Treating starts as soon as school lets out.
> 
> Sports? On the 31st, Halloween is king. I love this community.


Hmmmm... sounds like time to Take Off to the Great White North!

That burns my ass that they have the audacity to shift the calendar around like that, especially when it's for a game. A high school game at that (no offense intended to those in high school or parents thereof). Let the school reschedule the damned game when it's not on a holiday.

I'm so sick of Halloween being slapped around like the redheaded stepchild of the holiday world. I know it's not an "official" holiday that peole get off work or school for, but that doesn't make it something that can just be redefined on a whim. To a lot of kids it's the most important holiday of the year and politicians/councilmembers just toss it around like an afterthought to be tucked into some unused part of the calendar where it won't inconvenience anyone else. I think some of them do it just because they can and it makes them feel powerful.


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## slimy (Jul 12, 2006)

Run your haunt when you want. Hell, put up a sign and start the trick or treating next week. 

If the 'powers that be' designate a different night, then be open that night as well as the 'real ' night. 

This year, I think I'm going to do a trick or treat night in June. Really. Who is going to tell me that I can't?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Screw 'em.


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## Fiend4Halloween (Aug 28, 2008)

Same scenario on some military bases. I used to live on one and they would change the night that kids could T.O.T. and even have the hours pertain to what the military dictated. Mostly the kids would come out during the late day hours, and be done by the time it started to get dark. Understandably, it's safer, but part of the mystique of Halloween is it being dark, scary, lit up home haunts, etc. So to all taking the time to make your haunt all it can be, good luck, and thanks from those of us who make the most out of this wonderful time of the year !! HAPPY HAUNTING !


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## Offwhiteknight (Sep 17, 2008)

Wow. I'd never even heard of this until this thread. I had no idea Halloween could be moved. Then again, last year, I was stunned that St.Patrick's Day was moved because it fell during Lent.

I didn't know this sort of thing could be done.

And I sure as heck wouldn't move my Halloween to any other day than October 31st. Always will and always will be.


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