Does Halloween need to be on Oct. 31st? The debate continues

The City of Sherbrooke has rejected a proposal to move Halloween to the weekend after some parents asked why it needs to be on Oct. 31st.

"For the parents, it can be a struggle to get everything organized," said city councillor Laure Letarte-Lavoie. "You have to get the kids back from school, fed and in costume, and it's usually a big rush."

This year, Halloween is on a Monday. A parent in Sherbrooke floated the idea to move it to Saturday to give families more time to get ready, an idea that was ultimately voted down by city council.

The thought of moving Halloween is not new in Quebec.

In 2019, many municipalities moved the holiday due to massive storm forecasts.

"It's because the police officers and the fire department, because of the prediction of the big winds and the rain like it was supposed to be, they said it's pretty risky, so I made the decision on security," said Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante at the time.

Not every city swapped the dates, however, which caused some confusion.

Some cities have already made the switch permanent. In Rouyn-Noranda, no matter what day of the week Halloween falls on, it's been celebrated on Saturdays for more than a decade.