How the Date Is Determined

Halloween is easy to find: it is the same date every year, October 31.

Halloween is always October 31. It is the eve of All Saints' Day (also called All Hallows' Day) on November 1. That is how "All Hallows' Eve" became "Halloween." It is a fixed-date cultural event, not a federal holiday. So it can land on any day of the week, and there is no observed-date rule. Schools and businesses stay open. Trick-or-treating simply happens that evening, whatever the weekday.

History

Halloween traces to Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival marking summer's end. People believed the line between the living and the dead grew thin then. The medieval church added All Saints' Day (November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2) over the season. Customs grew around the night, like "souling" (going door to door for soul cakes) and "guising" (wearing disguises).

Irish and Scottish immigrants brought these traditions to America in the 1840s. They swapped carved turnips for native pumpkins to make jack-o'-lanterns. Community trick-or-treating became the national standard from the 1930s through the 1950s, promoted partly to curb Halloween pranks. UNICEF's orange collection boxes joined the ritual in 1950. They turned candy rounds into a charity drive that continues today.

Traditions and Celebrations

Modern American Halloween is a major shopping event. The National Retail Federation estimates spending above $12 billion a year. Staples include:

  • Trick-or-treating and "trunk-or-treat" events in parking lots.
  • Costumes for kids, adults, and an estimated 20 percent of pets.
  • Pumpkin carving, corn mazes, and haunted houses.
  • Candy in bulk; it is the year's biggest candy-selling season, led by chocolate and the often-debated candy corn.
  • New York's Village Halloween Parade, the largest night parade of its kind in the country, and Anoka, Minnesota, self-declared "Halloween Capital of the World" since 1920.

Planning Around Halloween

Nothing closes, but schedules shift. Schools hold parties and parades. Towns sometimes set official trick-or-treat hours, and occasionally move them to a weekend. A lit porch light signals who is taking part. When October 31 falls on a Friday or Saturday, adult parties and events multiply, and haunted attractions sell out weekends all month. Child pedestrian injuries spike on Halloween evening. So drivers are urged to slow down in neighborhoods after dark. Map out costume deadlines, parties, and trick-or-treat hours on a printable October page from our monthly calendars.