R.I. lawmaker proposes changing Halloween to a Saturday holiday

[The Straight Story]

R.I. lawmaker proposes changing Halloween to a Saturday holiday



PROVIDENCE — Halloween could permanently fall on the last Saturday in October in Rhode Island, under a bill introduced Thursday by state Rep. Donald J. Lally Jr.

Lally, a South Kingstown Democrat, said he submitted the legislation at the request of a constituent who thought it would be beneficial for both people and businesses. He says he’s not sure if it’s a good idea yet, but hopes to request a hearing on the bill during the session.

“Look at it this way: kids can go out for candy on Saturday and they don’t have to get up for school the next day; parents don’t have to race home from work when it’s dark out and have to worry about kids on the street; and businesses and restaurants can have their Halloween contests and it doesn’t have to be on a Monday night or a Tuesday night.”

Reader response to the proposal on projo.com Thursday and Friday ranged from enthusiastic support to outright criticism of the lawmaker for diverting attention from the state’s more pressing issues, such as unemployment and the state budget.

http://www.projo.com/news/content/HALLOWEEN_LAW_01-29-11_4LM6S1O_v19.18e8175.html

[Joe the Revelator]

1. That's so....stupid. nt

[Very_Boring_Name]

9. Why is it stupid?

I think it's a good idea.

[Joe the Revelator]

14. The same reason moving Xmas, or Easter or Passover or the 4th of July to a more convenient day would

be stupid. Holidays are holidays because their dates or relation to certain moon phases have meaning.

[Drunken Irishman]

28. Not quite the same...

Christmas is a holiday most people receive off and Easter is always on a Sunday. You rarely run into scheduling conflicts and as a kid, I quite remember having Halloween fall on the weekdays - I hated it!

As a 20-something, I still remember having Halloween fall on the weekdays and I still hate it. ;)

Should it be changed? Na', but I can see why some would want to make it a weekend holiday.

[RKP5637]

2. Just when stupid couldn't get more stupid along comes this wonder-bill, wonders never cease. n/t

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

3. He probably is getting a kickback from CVS

Like every other RI lawmaker.

[The_Commonist]

4. Actually, I don't think that's such a bad idea.

It's not like anybody really cares if Halloween is the night before All Saint's Day.
And it's much more fun partying on a Saturday night than on a Tuesday night.
While it is certainly a waste of lawmaker's time... what these days isn't?
I think this should go national.

[May Hamm]

23. Actually, I agree

Nobody does care about the origin of Halloween. My guess is that most young parents don't even know why it's the last day of October. I know the college age partiers could care less.

I wouldn't have any problem with moving it.

[Book Lover]

33. Actually, some of us *do* celebrate it as such

It may not be important to you, but please don't over-generalize your experience to "everyone." For me as the others who celebrate it as an actual holiday (as opposed to people who just see it as another chance to have a party) it is important that Halloween in October 31st.

[The_Commonist]

40. And there's no reason you...

...couldn't continue to do that.

If the secular holiday is on the last saturday of the month, so the kiddies can trick-or-treat, and the partiers can get their party on, the last day of the month will still be there on the calendar, and you can still celebrate it then.

I also think we should do the same with Xmas, and replace it on the Federal calendar with something else...

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Other than being a waste of the legislature's time, I don't have a problem with this

Give the kids a day to recover after partying. Not such a bad idea at all.

[Saokymo]

6. This makes sense.

It's quite silly to bring this up at the moment given current events, but all in all it's really not that bad of an idea. Major holidays are always more fun when they fall on weekends simply because there's more time to enjoy the day and unwind from the festivities afterwords. I'd personally like to see something similar done for Christmas and New Year's, too.

[Liberal In Texas]

7. While he's at it, why not move Xmas, Ind. Day, Mem Day, Labor Day etc. to Sat,

At some point, people will ignore stupid legislation and continue doing what they've always done.

[Joe the Revelator]

12. Exactly

[blaze]

21. Agreed!!! Make Christmas a Saturday always too!!

Let's make sure we give all holidays the same level of recognition.

(I actually hate the idea... let's respect the date and what it represents)

[Drunken Irishman]

30. It's not the same...

As I said upthread, they aren't comparable.

Christmas is a holiday most traditionally receive off, especially children. No school, whether private or public, is open on Christmas Day.

Likewise, Independence Day is a government holiday, which means many businesses are closed. Kids, who attend year round schools, get the 4th of July off.

Even Thanksgiving, which always falls on the LAST Thursday of November (different set days each year), is a day students and many adults get off.

Halloween, though, is not a holiday where kids get off for school.

I can see the reasoning behind making Halloween the last Saturday in October.

[Odin2005]

8. That's just fucking stupid!

[Angry Dragon]

10. As long as there are no problems with changing

other religious holidays

Halloween, celebrated each year on October 31, is a mix of ancient Celtic practices, Catholic and Roman religious rituals and European folk traditions that blended together over time to create the holiday we know today. Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity and life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. Halloween has long been thought of as a day when the dead can return to the earth, and ancient Celts would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off these roaming ghosts. The Celtic holiday of Samhain, the Catholic Hallowmas period of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day and the Roman festival of Feralia all influenced the modern holiday of Halloween. In the 19th century, Halloween began to lose its religious connotation, becoming a more secular community-based children's holiday. Although the superstitions and beliefs surrounding Halloween may have evolved over the years, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people can still look forward to parades, costumes and sweet treats to usher in the winter season.

[Book Lover]

34. Thank. You. (nm)

[no_hypocrisy]

11. Why stop there. Make it first thing on Saturday morning.

Clear visibility, get it over with early, kids can still do stuff in the afternoon.

[cynatnite]

13. Not a bad idea. n/t

[Earth_First]

15. How about ELECTION DAY?!

:shrug:

[jmowreader]

16. Since Halloween has lost ALL its religious meaning, this is fine with me

Yes, Halloween is a very important day to Wiccans, Pagans and other naturist-religion followers, but to the average American it's a day for the kids to dress up like Ozzy Osbourne and beg for candy. Or, in the case of adults, to dress up like a "French maid" or whatever and go get shitfaced somewhere.

So if it's just a day to go out and have a good time, why NOT hold it on Saturday?

[Angry Dragon]

24. So to you it is okay to disregard some religions??

[jmowreader]

26. So to you it's not okay this is a secular holiday in the US?

And wouldn't it make the holiday more meaningful, for the person who considers it a religious holiday, if the candy-begging and drunken debauchery were on a different day? I'm sure the Christians, if they could, would move the annual begathon that's currently held on 12/25 to a different day.

[Angry Dragon]

27. I feel that to regulate the holiday would be a mistake

As far as religious holidays each person celebrates it in their own fashion.
In earlier Christian times Easter was the more predominate religious holiday.
Over the course of time as the church swallowed up other religions Christmas
came to be the predominate holiday because more religions had this date as a
celebration.

To many Christmas is more a secular holiday than a religious one. So each is
free to celebrate as they see fit. Perhaps I am just getting fed up with
politicians trying to make everyone fit in with what they believe just because
they think they know best. Better for them to fix the things that they have
screwed up.

[Book Lover]

35. Actually, no. The general feeling of it being a holiday for *everyone*, candy-beggars and

celebrants alike, makes it a special day.

[Raine]

17. Let's just change the 4th of July too

make it on a Saturday. That way people can get drunk at the BBQ picnic and not have to worry about going to work the next day. Let's just take the specialness out of every holiday and move then all to Saturdays for convenice. :sarcasm: Better yet just tell people to take so many paid days off a year and make their own holiday, forget official dates. :eyes: It doesn't matter because by shifting them all to "convenient" days they lose all meaning anyway. Some of these elected officials have too much time on their hands to think of ridiculous things like this. :silly:

[The Straight Story]

18. Funny this is, when I was a deputy, I worked weekends - do they not get that many still do?

Nurses, security guards, firefighters, cops, etc all work weekends....

[Drunken Irishman]

32. Except many people, especially kids, get the 4th off from work/school.

Halloween, if it falls on a M-F, is treated as just another day by businesses and schools.

[Avalux]

19. Whatever. How about making election day a Saturday holiday so people can vote????

Nope, didn't think so.

[eShirl]

39. +9999999

[Initech]

20. Why not? Saturdays are always good days for Halloween parties anyways!

[JI7]

22. it might be more convenient but i don't think it's that important,i would rather stop the time

change that takes place.

[boston bean]

25. I think it would be better to have it on a Saturday every year.

kids don't have school the next day and adults can have their halloween parties and not have to worry about work the next day.

[grahamhgreen]

29. Great idea, bu then their would be two Halloweens.

[Drunken Irishman]

31. Last year we had two Halloweens...

As most here celebrated it on the 30th (Saturday).

I had my display up both nights and we got absolutely no trick-or-treaters on Sunday.

[grahamhgreen]

36. I got them both days. Two Halloweens

is fine by me, but I think the bill intends to limit Halloween to the Saturday, instead, I think, it will expand it!

[Drunken Irishman]

37. That would be awesome!

I am a Halloween freak!

This is my display from this year:



































I'd actually LIKE it on Saturday from a totally selfish POV. This Halloween (well Saturday, so the 30th), we had more people than we've ever had and when Halloween falls on weeknights, it cuts trick or treaters in half.

I want more! :D

[grahamhgreen]

38. That's fantastic! Maybe we should introduce these bills in every state!