Why Do Some New Hampshire Towns Not Trick-or-Treat on Halloween Night?
Not a hot take, but since Halloween is the same day every year (October 31) we can't control what day of the week it falls on.
Obviously, it's more fun when it lands on a weekend!
If you are privy to hosting or attending Halloween parties and Halloween happens to be on a Wednesday, you typically celebrate the weekend before.
Dressing up in a Halloween costume in November feels weird, doesn't it? Perhaps that's just a personal preference, but to me, it feels like the moment has passed.
But when it comes to trick-or-treating, I am used to that always happening on Halloween night despite what day of the week Halloween falls on. Well, not in New Hampshire!
In New Hampshire, it seems every town has a different day that they go trick-or-treating, and I think it's confusing. It also makes it difficult for families to coordinate with friends in neighboring towns.
I saw a woman named Bailey Pavlot post about it on a local mom group on Facebook: Seacoast NH/ME Moms. She is from New York originally and asked the question we've all been wondering.
Why don't we just trick-or-treat on actual Halloween night?
The post got tons of engagement because it's a question that gets asked on this page every year. (I am new to the group, so this is the first time I'm seeing it)
A wise member of the group named Meredith said often smaller towns do an alternative night for police coverage purposes. For example, in Hampton Falls they often have trick-or-treating on the 30th so the town can have support from Hampton and Seabrook PD to keep kids safe. Then in turn the Hampton Falls police department helps out in the bigger towns on the 31st! That logic makes sense to me.
According to another member of the group named Shelby, October 30 is called "beggars night" which started in Iowa in the 1930s. Basically, on Halloween people used to cause a lot of destruction, vandalism, and crime. They instituted Beggar’s Night on the night before Halloween to make a safer night for young children to go trick or treating and let the police focus on stopping crime.
Apparently, it worked so many New Hampshire towns abide by it.
Would you prefer if your town had trick-or-treating on actual Halloween or does it not bother you if it happens on a different night?
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