Changing the Date of Halloween: Patrick Dresslar

Sure moving Halloween to a Saturday will be more convenient for parents, children, and young adults alike.  Children would rejoice at the following day being a Sunday rather than a school day; young adults and parents would avoid the dreaded Monday or Wednesday morning hangover.  But just because a change makes particular aspects more convenient does not make such a change necessary or even desirable.  It has been established that Halloween is fast becoming a retail paradise, moving to the sixth largest retail holiday and moving up with each passing year.  The holiday already significantly boosts the retail economy, and any marginal increase resulting from moving the holiday seems highly unnecessary.  If it's not broken, don't try and fix it.

Further, from a definition standpoint the holiday's name would make no sense anymore.  Halloween is the night before All Saints Day and has been for multiple centuries.  I think if a coalition is attempting to change the date they will have to change the name as well because Halloween is and always has been steeped in tradition, and underlying all that tradition is that it falls on October 31, the night before All Saints Day.   Tradition is simply not something you can sacrifice in the name of more money.  That is an extremely dangerous precedent to set.

Finally, Halloween is an international holiday, not just American.  How silly would we look if in the States we celebrated on October 25th and Europe celebrates it on the 31st?  I can see the headlines now... Smashing Pumpkins:  American Greed crushes Annual Tradition.  We don't want to be that country.

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