Dear Abby on Trick-or-Treating

[snowdragon]

I can understand moving it because of the storm. But I am still puzzled by what prompted the original move from Halloween to Tuesday. Someone upthread mentioned church services on Wednesday night--while there may be a church in town that holds services midweek, the majority do not, so I don't think that was the motivation here.

 Any Roman Catholic church in town will have services, it's a Holy Day of obligation for them.  I am not sure about other denominations

[Sharnita]

I can understand moving it because of the storm. But I am still puzzled by what prompted the original move from Halloween to Tuesday. Someone upthread mentioned church services on Wednesday night--while there may be a church in town that holds services midweek, the majority do not, so I don't think that was the motivation here.

 Any Roman Catholic church in town will have services, it's a Holy Day of obligation for them.  I am not sure about other denominations

FWIW,  Halloween  is  also Reformation Day for Lutherans.

[MommyPenguin]

My town apparently had trick-or-treating last night.  I don't know how I was supposed to know, if we were going to give out candy.  Maybe if we did Halloween, we'd have checked the town website or something and there would have been an announcement?  Or maybe they tell the kids in schools?  Regardless, I had no idea, and I do have kids, we just don't participate.  I find it strange that if the town does decide to do something arbitrary like that, they don't publicize it more.  I'm not sure I ever really thought of it being something that towns regulate, so I'm not sure I would have thought to look up the town website online even if we were planning to participate.  Just looked up the town website now out of curiosity, and it does say there, although it calls it "Begger's Night."  (Isn't it spelled "beggar" anyway?)

[camlan]

My town apparently had trick-or-treating last night.  I don't know how I was supposed to know, if we were going to give out candy.  Maybe if we did Halloween, we'd have checked the town website or something and there would have been an announcement?  Or maybe they tell the kids in schools?  Regardless, I had no idea, and I do have kids, we just don't participate.  I find it strange that if the town does decide to do something arbitrary like that, they don't publicize it more.  I'm not sure I ever really thought of it being something that towns regulate, so I'm not sure I would have thought to look up the town website online even if we were planning to participate.  Just looked up the town website now out of curiosity, and it does say there, although it calls it "Begger's Night."  (Isn't it spelled "beggar" anyway?)

Check to see if the town sends out email bulletins. That's where I found out about the change in TOT to Saturday. They might also use the schools to publicize this information.

[camlan]

I can understand moving it because of the storm. But I am still puzzled by what prompted the original move from Halloween to Tuesday. Someone upthread mentioned church services on Wednesday night--while there may be a church in town that holds services midweek, the majority do not, so I don't think that was the motivation here.

 Any Roman Catholic church in town will have services, it's a Holy Day of obligation for them.  I am not sure about other denominations

November 1 is a Holy Day of Obligation--All Saints Day. Many Catholic churches do offer an evening service the night before a Holy Day, but there are still services on Nov. 1. And in the US, this day is mostly celebrated on the following Sunday. But as a Catholic, I've never heard of moving TOT because of All Saints Day. Nor have I heard any priest or nun speak out against TOT on Halloween.

Halloween is in fact a contraction of All Hallows Eve, the eve of All Saints Day, known in earlier times as All Hallows, just as Christmas Eve is the night before Christmas. (This is the Catholic tradition; there are earlier pagan traditions involved, as well.)

All that to say, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the Catholics in town that requested the date change.

[snowdragon]

See in our Church, it was ALWAYS Oct31 and we went to church before T-0-Ting. It never failed. While the priests would not have asked for the t-o-ting to be moved, they would not have let us "off" for it either.