Introducing "National Trick or Treat Day." Unable to convince the government to change the date of Halloween, the petition now seeks to add an entirely new holiday to the calendar.
Well, folks, somehow it is already August; school is about to start back up and it's a perfect time to start thinking out what is really important—and by that, we mean Halloween.
The holiday that takes even the grumpiest of us back to childhood is on the radar, and one group has been trying to impact the beloved holiday in a big way. Last year, we told you about a viral petition that was started, asking the President to officially change the date of Halloween to the last Saturday of October, regardless of the date.
The argument behind the petition was that, for the safety and convenience of kids and families, it would be better to always have Halloween on a Saturday. This change would allow for kids to trick-or-treat before it became too dark outside and for parents and teachers to not have to face hordes of sugar-crashing kids in the morning.
Put out by the Halloween & Costume Association, this petition has over 120,000 signatures, as of earlier last week.
Snickers even got in on the game, announcing that it would hand out one million candy bars if the federal government officially changed the date of Halloween.
"Snickers is all in on celebration Halloween to the fullest. If the federal government makes this thing official, we're offering up to one million free Snickers to America. No tricks, only treats," Josh Olken, Snickers' brand director, said in a press release.
The cause has gotten so much attention in recent days and the petition has since been updated with a slightly different goal. As of Wednesday, July 31, the Halloween & Costume Association no longer wants to change the official date of Halloween. Instead, they want instead to add another holiday: National Trick or Treat Day. You may have seen this coming, but the date proposed is the very same last Saturday in October that the previous goal wanted to change to Halloween. The update says that the feedback left by both supports and protesters has been listened to and is why they have shifted focus.
Here’s what the association shared in their update:
“Our petition has evolved into a message of unity, acceptance, and equality. Instead of changing the date that American's celebrate Halloween, we will be adding an additional day of festivities in the hopes of bringing more people together. National Trick or Treat Day will take place annually on the last Saturday of October when Americans can participate in community parades, throw neighborhood parties and opt for daytime Trick or Treating.”
You might be asking yourselves, what’s the difference? We are, too. At least in the updated petition, the concept of hijacking Halloween and moving it to a completely different day is off the table. And let’s be real, we celebrate the Saturday after Halloween already because that Sarah Sanderson costume we are working on is way too good to just wear once.
And much like the responses the petition received last year, not everyone is on board with the new idea ...
One comment left by Orville Fuhitte claims, “This petition IS NOT what I signed, REMOVE MY NAME IMMEDIATELY from this petition! This new petition ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT HAVE MY SUPPORT and I WILL CONTACT MY CONGRESSPERSON TO STATE SO!”
Another by Frank Sebert says what many are thinking, "Ahhh nice scam!!, we can't change it so hey let's add a day and try to get more of the hard working people's money, I should have thought it through, oh well fool me once..."
While a second official holiday dedicated to candy and dressing up may not be necessary, it has lots of possibilities—the potential for retailers to earn twice as much is not lost on us, nor is the fact that the Halloween & Costume Association is teaming up with Party City to launch the new #ALLoween campaign, which kicks off September 13.
One of our biggest questions is: will this new holiday delay the half-off sales on all the Halloween candy?
You can sign the petition on Change.org here!
What do you think about National Trick or Treat Day? Do we need another official day to celebrate what makes Halloween so special? Let us know your take in the comment below.
