During the weeks before the holiday of Halloween, some students in the Barstow community have said that we should get a day off for Halloween. The origins and theories on how Halloween came to be are shrouded in mystery, but October 31st is still a holiday loved by many. Some students believe they would benefit from the extra day. Some students may even be willing to sacrifice a day of summer for a day off.
David Humphreys ‘30 said, “The summer is already so long and there are days where you’ve already done everything you can.”
Halloween is not a federal holiday, but it’s also the beginning of the holiday season. Most children look forward to Halloween during October. All of the creepy and fun decorations like cobwebs and spiders seem to be loved by the Barstow community. Most of the students at Barstow dress up on Halloween to show off their awesome costumes. Even the teachers sometimes dress up.The school has not had a day off during Halloween for the last few years. They have said that they would be able to stay up and or sleep in if there was a day off before or after Halloween.
A Little History on Halloween
Most experts believe that Halloween dates back to Celtic culture. The Celtics lived in the British isles, Modern day England, Scotland, and Ireland. On November first, the Celtics celebrated New Year’s Day.
The day before October 31st, on New Years Eve, they thought the souls that died last year would rise to judge them. So on their New Years Eve they would dress up in costumes to try and trick the souls to think that they were also souls. Then Pope Gressory III declared October 31st All Hallows Eve (Halloween) to celebrate the souls going to heaven.
There are some theories on how trick or treating came to be. One of them was that people in the Middle Ages would bake soul cakes and give them to people to offer prayers for the dead.
Many students want a day off for Halloween, but it is not an official holiday. Grey Bittel ‘30 said, “It would also be nice to have classroom-to-classroom trick or treating, not just a parade.”
Halloween is one of the best holidays in many opinions and many think it should be a national holiday.
