The Halloween and Costume Association launched a petition in hopes to move Halloween from October 31st every year to the last Saturday of October instead.
The petition say, "It's time for Safer, Longer, Stress-Free Celebration! Let's move Halloween to the last Saturday of October!"
The petition had about 30,000 signatures as of Halloween week, with many people thinking the change would make the holiday more convenient for kids, parents, as well as adults, who are one of the fastest growing groups when it comes to those who celebrate Halloween.
At Performance Studios in Nashville, they said the change may largely be motivated by business, as more people celebrate when the holiday falls on a weekend.
“The parents will still do the festivities with their children on the 31st, the younger people will still go to the clubs and private parties on the 31st, but the general public that are doing the adult entertainment part of Halloween, they’re not going to do it on a Wednesday night, and if they do, they’re going to do it early, they’re still going to be in bed by 9:30, so they’re not going to spend a lot of money," Gary Broadrick, co-owner of Performance Studios, said. "From a business standpoint, it being on a Saturday night every year is certainly going to increase revenue for all involved. Not only the costume industry, but the candy industry as well.”
While many experts say the biggest gain financially will be from adults, the petition also stresses how it will impact kids who trick-or-treat. Both when it comes to safety, and when it comes to convenience, both for the children, and the parents.
“The adult involvement is going to increase, the revenue is going to increase, but that also means that kids don’t have to wake up and go to school the next morning," Broadrick said of a potential change to Halloween on Saturdays. "They don’t have to wait until they get home from school and eat dinner and then put on their costume and then go trick or treating and try to get in before it gets real late, you know? If it’s on Saturday night, they can start a little earlier in the evening and probably get home before it gets real dark.”
The petition is seeking at least 35,000 signatures before being delivered to the president, but it's unclear if any other action would take place in an effort to move the holiday to the last Saturday of October.
