Which night is Trick-or-Treat night in your neighborhood?

[Common Sense Party]

I know Halloween is October 31. I only ask because in our hyper-religious Mormon-dominant community, everyone sort of "knows" that you don't go trick-or-treating on a Sunday. So everyone else is expected to conform to the majority wishes, thus in our town the kids go door to door on Saturday night.

Does this happen anywhere else?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Common Sense Party...

We don't have a Mormon neighborhood, so our Halloween always happens on the 31st.

That'll be the night we have our porch lights on, too...

[murielm99]

2. The local cops here put an announcement in the

newspaper. I think the city council discusses it and passes a resolution. They say something like, "Trick or treating is between 3:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Oct 31. Please accompany your children. Cross the street safely at the corner. Wear masks that are easy to see through, or make-up instead of a mask. Check your candy...yadda yadda.

They are not being anal, but trying to keep everyone safe. They are very friendly and helpful about it. And no, they do not arrest anyone if they are trick or treating past 8:00 p.m.

I have never seen them put trick or treat on another day. The fundies can turn their lights out and live with it. Sheese.

[kath]

3. Out here in Okie-Hell the Fundie-mentals rule, so trick-or-treating is moved to Saturday night.

But Halloween is SATANIC EEEE-VUL, don'cha know? I suppose we're lucky they allow trick-or-treating at all.

[HopeHoops]

4. Around here, damn near every township has it the Thursday before Halloween (or on it if it is Thur).

Ours was last night and the neighborhood was overflowing with kids. We had on a CD of Halloween tunes I burned piped out through the garage speakers - Alice Cooper's "Welcome To My Nightmare", "Thriller", "The Monster Mash", "Monster In The Mirror" (Grover on Sesame Street), the theme from "Twilight Zone", etc.

[Common Sense Party]

6. So, every year it's the Thursday before Halloween?

Wow, I've never heard of that.

[HopeHoops]

8. Well, unless Halloween IS a Thursday. There are both safety and practical reasons for it.

The safety reason is to avoid having the kids out on Friday or Saturday night when there will be parties and a well-known increase in drunk driving (but with masks on).

The primary practical reason is that the police will have more officers on the street and will be able to put the attention into making sure the event is safe for the kids without having to divert significant energy into handling wasted goblins.

The secondary practical reason is that most schools have their Halloween parties on that Friday so it is sort of expected that it won't be much of an academic day.

It is a long-standing tradition around here (Harrisburg, PA area) and nearly all of the townships follow it.

[Rhythm]

5. Ours is Saturday night

Specifically from 6 - 7:30pm

The regemented time frame bugs me... it flies in the face of what was fun about Halloween as a kid. By structuring a time frame that short, it makes it stressful on the parents and the kids.

[Common Sense Party]

7. Yeah, plus little kids may want to get started earlier.

We usually shut down by 7:30 or so, when it's just teenagers with no costumes.

[rurallib]

15. kids get one hour on Sunday 6 to 7 PM

[tigereye]

9. it's Sunday here- I was kind of surprised, since it's a school night- but

so be it - it is the day!

[AngryOldDem]

10. Most are on Sunday around here.

But there are a few on Saturday.

Personally, I'd rather have it on Saturday, given that Sunday is a school night.

[Common Sense Party]

12. I'm happy it's Saturday here, because of the school night thing.

It's always tough getting my kids going on a Monday. But with a sugar-high hangover, it would be even worse.

[AngryOldDem]

13. Bedtime for my younger two is 8:30.

Right when trick-or-treat ends.

But yeah, I'm sure the teachers are **really** going to be looking forward to Monday morning.

[hunter]

11. Sunday.

Changing the date of trick-or-treat would be outside the realm of enforceability in our community. If our city government, in some brief fit of religious fervor, did pass an ordinance changing the day nobody would pay attention. If it's not bleeding or on fire it's pretty far down the list of things people worry about in our community.

[Silver Swan]

14. In our village

Trick-or-treating is always on a Sunday, from 1:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon. If Halloween is not on a Sunday, trick-or-treating is the Sunday before Halloween.

I think the reason for this is that in many parts of town, there are no sidewalks, making it dangerous for children to be out after dark.

We have never had trick-or treaters show up outside the specified day and time.

[kath]

16. In broad daylight?!? That seems so strange...

[AsahinaKimi]

17. I don't think people here in The City

Trick or Treat much any more. They may go to a mall or walgreens, but I haven't seen kids with parents in the neighborhood for years.

[sakabatou]

18. It's Halloween

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. Here in the Bible belt, it is tonight ( Sat). 5 to 7 pm. Strictly.

Most of the little towns set the dates and times, and all decided NO tricking on Sunday.
But one very very very small town had it last night, because tonight is the big football game (whatever big means)
and of course Sunday is... Sunday.

For those who do not know, Wed and Sunday nights are church nights for a whole lot of people, so you learn never to schedule meetings those nights.

[datasuspect]

20. EVERY goddamn night

[applegrove]

21. Tomorrow night in Ottawa. Tis a good thing since it is snowing tonight.

[bigwillq]

22. Oct. 31 (nt)