Spooky scary Saturday

By MELINA WEAVER

 

Halloween, spooky, scary, skeletons, candy that lasts until May, and students exhausted from staying up late. Halloween can be very difficult to celebrate on a weeknight, and for obvious reasons, should be moved to Saturday. Many people have already thought of this, and the longstanding debate has been going on forever. There are perks to each decision, but the obvious answer to the problem is to move Halloween celebrations to a Saturday. Specifically, the last Saturday of October.

Obviously, everyone has a busy life, and not everyone can pause their life to give candy out and make elaborate costumes. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 89% of Americans work on an average weekday, and 31% on an average weekend. That means, in short, that more people are free on weekends than on weekdays. A lot of parents do not have the time to go out and buy candy, as well as send their kids out to get free candy from strangers. It would make so much sense just to make the simple switch of making Halloween a holiday weekend. 

Additionally, the majority of schools do not allow students the day off for the holiday. As a result, students tend to spend a lot of time in school daydreaming about that night’s costume, and the amount of candy they get. And at night, kids stay out late, collecting candy, and eating it. Late nights do not make well for early school days. That takes away from a lot of time that could be used to learn, which is the purpose of school. Old traditions shouldn’t take time away from what should be the first priority: education. 

A lot of people have argued the counter, that as per tradition, Halloween should fall on October 31, as it has always been. Although the argument is valid, traditions change. And sometimes, change is for the better. If America would’ve never broken free from Britain, it’s possible that we still might be a part of them, without a lot of the freedoms we have now. If the 90s never changed into the 00s we would have never moved out of the scrunchie and messy hair phase – oh, wait. Nevermind. Either way, change can be good, and sometimes needed. 

All in all, Halloween should not be a tradition that takes away from what we should value most. Education should be a main part of everyone’s lives, as it determines their – and everyone else’s – future.