Change the date of Halloween?!

I came across an article saying there's a petition the other day asking to officially change the date of Halloween to the last Saturday in October, rather than the 31st. Needless to say, I was flabbergasted. Gobsmacked, I tell you. Perhaps this is the historian and archaeologist in me, but I don't see how actually celebrating Halloween on the 31st each year is difficult or inconvenient. I have a an almost 8-year-old who has been celebrating it on the festival day since she was born, without any inconvenience. Trick-or-treating is only until 8pm in our area, not that it takes that long anyway. She gets a piece or two of candy before brushing her teeth and going off to bed. Same with my niece and nephews. They still get up for school the next morning without a problem.

In response to this craziness, I thought I would start a series of posts about the traditions and the history behind our holiday. The real Halloween/All Hallow's Eve/Samhain and so on that has been usurped by the commercial culture we live in today and controlled by the costume and candy companies. The "Halloween Industry Association". also known as the "Halloween and Costume Association" would like it scheduled on the weekend 'for a safer, longer, stress-free celebration." Ever wonder why Daylight savings (DST) was suddenly moved to November from earlier in October? A law signed by George W. Bush, extended Daylight Savings Time by a week, gaining trick-or-treaters and extra hour or so of daylight for treat collecting. This enactment of law was the end result of intense lobbying by retail companies. It has nothing to do with energy savings anymore, or the farming industry, but more to do with the hundreds of millions of dollars that the retail industry makes of DST (www.businessinsider.com/daylight-saving-time-and-halloween-2014-10). Something I touch on in my Intro to Cultural Anthropology course when we talk about consumer cultures (I can write about that some other time.) So is this suggested change really for safety and lowering stress?

Now that we've talked about the inspiration for these posts...