Halloween and the date Oct. 31 are deeply entwined in the popular imagination, but one lawmaker says it's time to change tradition. Connecticut state Rep. Tim Larson (D) wants the state legislature to permanently designate the last Saturday in October as the night for trick-or-treating. He says that would make the holiday easier for parents, because they wouldn't have to dash home from work when Halloween falls on a weekday. Plus, he says, Halloween is a $7 billion a year industry, so anything that makes it run more smoothly will create jobs. "It's kind of a whimsical idea," says Larson, "but it's smart." Is it really?
No. Messing with Halloween tradition is dumb: "Some things are sacred," says Sunny Chanel at Babble. "There are fireworks on the Fourth of July, the tooth fairy comes to visit when you lose a tooth, and Halloween always falls on Oct. 31." Fiddling with such "near-holy traditions" to make things "more convenient for adults just seems to be selfish."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
