Petition To Move Halloween To Last Saturday In October Growing
MIAMI (CBSMiami/CNN) -- When Halloween falls on a weekday, as it does this year, would-be revelers can't stay up too late celebrating. That's kind of a bummer, but there's a growing movement to move the sugar-laden holiday to Saturday permanently.
A petition started last year by the nonprofit "Halloween and Costume Association" aims to have Halloween observed on the last Saturday in October.
The group argues it will make for a celebration that is "safer, longer and stress free."
As of Tuesday afternoon, the petition had more than 113-thousand signatures.
The roots of Halloween are a lot deeper than Party City commercials might have you believe. Halloween, an abbreviation for All Hallows' Eve, originated as a pagan festival celebrated by the Celts thousands of years ago.
As a part of Samhain, a celebration of summer's end, people went "souling" -- they'd go from door to door asking for "soul cakes" or food and drink in exchange for a song, dance or prayer. Trick-or-treating got its start there. Now, it's the main way we choose to commemorate October 31. But trick-or-treating can be dangerous.
So how does moving a date make this spooky holiday safer? In theory, it would mean Halloween would kick off during daylight hours and not interfere with work or school schedules.
Maybe that's what makes the petition appealing to so many.
After its rallying cry, the petition lists safety tips for both parents and partiers. "63% of children don't carry a flashlight while they are (trick)-or-treating. Grab a clip-on light if they don't want to carry one! Children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween."
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