Halloween (aka All Hallows' Eve or All Saints' Eve) is celebrated on October 31. It is the Eve of November 1, All Hallows' or All Saints' Day. This is a time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, particularly saints and martyrs. It is not a movable holiday.
Christianity is not the only religion to hold the date sacred. This is not a movable holiday for the Pagans, either. Samhain is the end of summer and the beginning of winter, a sign of death and rebirth. As my sister is wont to say "The veil is thinning" at this time of year. What veil? The veil between worlds. Thus all the ghosts and things.
There is currently a movement afoot to move Halloween to, I believe, the last Saturday of October. They want to move a religious holiday for the sake, frankly, of profit and convenience. And they don't even know what they are talking about.
These people are talking about Beggars' Night, not about Halloween. Many of the trappings of a secular Halloween are tied into Celtic and Gaelic harvest festivals and Beggars' Night (aka Trick or Treat) is one of those things. This movement is rather akin to moving Christmas to make caroling more convenient and profitable.
All the local communities in my area already move Beggars' Night to the weekend. Trick-or-treaters can hit one town on Friday and another on Saturday. Spend Sunday with a belly ache... but I digress. Since I don't hold the date sacred, I move my totally secular Halloween party in the same manner. But for those who hold the holiday sacred, those for whom it is a holy day, Halloween cannot be moved.
Why, if we're already moving around what they think is Halloween, are they calling for a law to do so? In this age of diversity training, is Big Candy really this ignorant of the religious meaning of October 31?
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