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So, a group known as the Halloween & Costume Association has launched a petition asking to move the date of Halloween.
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On this 2017 photo, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump celebrate Halloween on the South Lawn. A Change.org petition asks Trump to "join the Halloween Saturday movement" and change the day Americans celebrate Halloween.(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP)
Nothing beats giving children a bunch of sweet treats on a school night, said no parent ever.
But changing the day we celebrate Halloween from October 31 to the last Saturday in October is the answer?
Thousands of people seem to think so.
On Friday morning, nearly 8,000 people signed a Change.org petition to President Donald Trump urging him to "join the Halloween Saturday movement," which asks the government to change the date on which Americans celebrate Halloween.
The petition was launched by Halloween & Costume, a non-profit association representing the costume and Halloween industries.
In the petition, the association says that changing the date would make it a "safer, longer and stress free celebration".
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No word from the White House if Trump is on board.
According to History.com, the origins of Halloween go back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2000 years ago in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the north of France, celebrated their new year on 1 November.
This day marked the end of the summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark and cold winter, a time of year often associated with human death. The Celts believed that the night before the New Year, the border between the world of the living and that of the dead was becoming blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, while it was believed that the ghosts of the dead had returned to the earth.
The petition offers these statistics and tips:
- Each year, there are 3,800 Halloween-related injuries. Talk to your children about safety before they leave;
- 82% of parents do not use high-visibility help on their costumes. Be sure to incorporate reflective tape, glow sticks, finger lights, or lighting accessories;
- 63% of children do not wear a flashlight during treatment. Take a clip-on lamp if you do not want to wear it!
- Children are twice as likely to get hit by a car and be killed on Halloween. Discuss safety, plan a route, stay on sidewalks and use pedestrian crossings;
- 65% of parents do not discuss Halloween safety with their children. Speak with your children and offer them ways to ensure a fun and safe experience
- 70% of parents do not accompany their children with cheating. The petition advises parents to put on a suit and tag them;
- 51% of millennia say that Halloween is their favorite holiday. "Why poke him in two rush hour at night while he deserves a full day?" the petition asks.
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Follow Jackie Rehwald on Twitter: @JackieRehwaldNL
Read or share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/10/26/change-halloween-day-safety-trump-petition/1777937002/
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