151,000 – That is the number of signatures on the “Halloween Petition” so far. The Halloween & Costume Association (HCA) started the petition in 2018, hoping to convince the President of the United States to move the holiday to the last Saturday in October. The HCA believes that moving the date will allow children to trick or treat during daylight hours, making it safer. 

Halloween has been celebrated on the 31st of October for thousands of years. Because of a recent spike in pedestrian accidents on Halloween, many are willing to change Halloween’s current date. Sierra Tannheiser, sophomore, says, “I think if Halloween gets celebrated during daylight hours it will be safer for kids.”  

 According to the HCA, 38,000 Halloween-related injuries occur every year. 95% of the injuries are caused by pedestrian accidents. Children are twice as likely to get hit by a car and killed on the holiday.  

Some don’t agree with the petition’s intentions. Ethan Hebert, sophomore, believes, “Doing it during daylight hours won’t make a difference. Parents just need to teach their kids how to be safe and responsible.” 

Parents are advised to take safety precautions such as, incorporating reflective tape into costumes, using glow-sticks or flashlights, and staying on sidewalks and crosswalks. Pre-planning a “trick-or-treat route” could also be helpful in maintaining safety. 

The HCA also says, 65% of parents don’t discuss Halloween safety with their children. And, 12% of children under the age of 5 go trick-or-treating without adult supervision. 

While some are concerned about the children’s safety on Halloween, others are equally as concerned about the holiday being on a weekday. Celebrating Halloween on a weekday can be stressful for students and adults who have school and work the next morning. 

Tannheiser explains, “I get stressed when teachers give a lot of homework on Halloween. Sometimes, I don’t even have time to go anywhere.” 

Ms.Dedominicis, explained, “it’s really a struggle to get home, get everybody fed, get everybody dressed, take photos, and then go(trick or treating).” She added that, “if you have young children everything is more complicated” 

Ms. Dedominicis also expressed, “I think halloween would be a better experience if it were consistently on a weekend.” 

Many people agree with Ms.Dedominicis’ opinion.  After receiving backlash for trying to move the date of Halloween, the HCA decided to edit their Change.org petition. Instead of attempting to move the date, the HCA wants to create a new holiday. The holiday will be called “National Trick-or-Treat Day.” 

Hebert expressed his opinion on the new holiday, “I think creating a new holiday is better than changing the original date of Halloween.” 

The petition is still running on Change.org and it receives hundreds of new signatures every day. Ms.Dedominicis supported the petition by saying, “yes I would sign it.”