This year Halloween falls on a Sunday, causing some to reconsider traditional celebrations that don't quite fit into usual Sabbath-day activities.
But it can be difficult to avoid the holiday known for scary creatures and costumed children begging for candy.
So we asked Mormon Times readers how they celebrate Halloween — and how their plans might change with the holiday falling on a Sunday.
For some, it's just a matter of moving the ward or branch's fall festival or trunk-or-treat to Friday or Saturday. City officials in a few cities in southern Alberta, Canada, including Cardston, Raymond and Hill Spring, have moved celebrations to Oct. 30 and asked their residents, many of whom are Mormon, to go trick-or-treating a day early, according to the Calgary Herald.
For others — especially those with children — avoiding the festivities can be almost impossible.
And there are a few who are celebrating this "Day of the Dead" by revisiting their family history — which can be done any day.
Here are a few of the comments readers e-mailed in:
"Our ward is associated with a U.S. Army post in Bavaria, Germany. We normally have a party at the chapel or a trunk-or-treat in the parking lot for ward families and friends. This year, like the last few years, the Primary presidency organizes the party, asking members — even those without kids— to bring candy and treats, put on activities and put up decorations. In the past, some of the single soldiers have really gotten into the party with fun costumes and games to entertain the kids. It's normally the Friday night before Halloween, which is handy this year because our stake conference is that weekend! We've found having our big activities on Friday night means no one is up late cleaning to get things ready for Sunday meetings. We can always go back Saturday and finish. Also, there is usually a Halloween activity on the American military base nearby, but it's usually no better than our ward's."
James and Janet Cook
Germany
"In our ward, we have a fall festival scheduled for Friday, Oct. 29, with trick-or-treating in the classrooms, activities for the kids and a full dinner for the ward. This is the first year we will have a dinner at the festival. Our three children will be going as Yoda, Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper from Star Wars, so they will still get to dress up even though we won't be going around the neighborhood on Sunday. We will also not be receiving trick-or-treaters on that day. We will also stock up on our own supply of candy from the stores so that the kids will be sure to end up with a full bag of goodies that weekend.
"We also ran into this earlier this year with the Fourth of July falling on a Sunday. That was a bit easier to handle with our children, though, since all we had to do was find a neighboring city that had fireworks on Saturday, July 3, and we went to those."
David Erickson
Eden Prairie Ward,
Minneapolis Minnesota Stake
"I have always had concerns about celebrating a holiday with pagan origins. In the early days of our young family, tradition was often too strong an impulse to resist. As the children became school age, we would often stay home and play harvest games or make Christmas gifts for teachers. My concern was so great that once, as Primary president, I organized a Primary activity in which all the participants would dress up as their favorite church history or scripture character. The wife of a prophet, Adam and Eve, and Esther were among the many creative characters who arrived for the evening. We had stations set up in various rooms where the children could play 'Match the Prophet' or other games we made up. Afterwards we had apple cider and homemade cookies. By all accounts, everyone had a great time. Later it dawned on me that if the origins of the day dealt with the dead, then maybe we could deal with our dead and work on family history projects. Perhaps instead of encouraging our children to beg for sugary sweets, we might consider gathering together to celebrate family, both living and dead, dressing up in costumes that celebrate our ancestry. And the tradition would not have to interfere with the spirit of the Sabbath Day."
Karen Murray
Quincy, Wash.
"The Acoma and Crossman Peak wards in the Lake Havasu City Arizona Stake and those within this community combine on Halloween, this year on the Saturday before for a fall festival.
"We have trunk-or-treat for the children. People may wear costumes, but no masks. Games and prizes, including a pumpkin-carving contest, complete with a chili supper with cornbread and hot dogs because some people prefer them to chili. Sweets are in the candy passed out to the children as trunk or treats. It is a great evening on the church parking lot, getting to meet each other in a get-together without it being 'church.' We have enjoyed doing this for several years. We have found many, many different kinds of chili and, yes, many kinds of cornbread also. Fortunately, our weather is usually very mild this time of the year. You might want to try it."
Wilma Aebisicher
Acoma Ward,
Lake Havasu City Arizona Stake
"My name is Linda Shattuck. The neighborhood kids called me Sister Shattuck, Sister Shaved Ice or simply 'The Costume Lady.'
"When I moved from California, I brought six racks of costumes, having been a costume helper in schools for years. I love Halloween.
"We've done Dickens Faires, (Rennaissance) Faires and all sort of other events. I still loan out costumes, and I make shaved ice for the kids in summer.
"However, this year, I'm battling breast cancer. I'm in chemotherapy, and my fourth round will be Oct. 21. I won't be passing out candy this year and seeing the beautiful costumed children on what my family used to call 'Beggar's Night.'
"Instead, I'll be doing what I love most — preparing names to go to the temple. I'm planning on it being a night for me to honor my dead so that they can live forever with their families. It will be an entirely different version of the 'Day of the Dead' and I'm looking forward to an alternate celebration from ghouls and ghosts. I need to rest in peace this year — and so do my ancestors."
Linda Shattuck
Cedar Hills, Utah
"I'm going to take my son out for Halloween after church to a park near our house and maybe knock on a few doors. Church comes first. I can't cancel Halloween because it's on a Sunday and not going trick-or-treating would break my son's heart. My son, who is 9, has only been a member for almost two months, so he's learning the ways of the church."
James Gates
Panorama City, Calif.
"We are a congregation of about 400 in a town of 40,000. Our chapel has three wards, the other two drawing from a larger area surrounding our town.
"About 18 years ago, some parents were lamenting that Halloween was on a Sunday, and we didn't want our kids going out trick-or-treating that night. Our ward decided to hold a trunk-or-treat on Saturday evening in the church parking lot. We set up in the parking lot, decorated our vehicles, dressed up ourselves and our kids and had a great time. The kids were happy, didn't complain (much) about not going out Sunday evening, and it started a great tradition.
"Some years the youths set up some things inside the church building for the younger kids to do. There have been face-painting, 'haunted classrooms,' hay-bale mazes and a lot of other fun activities.
"It became so popular that the other two wards now participate with us, and our fairly large lot is usually nearly full. The kids get to see lots of friends they don't see very often, we all get to visit on an evening when that usually doesn't happen, and we get to see another side of our friends. We had a bishop for a while who is an avid biker. He would decorate his Honda Gold Wing and hand out candy from the saddle bags. The kids loved it.
"It has also gone beyond just being held when Halloween is on Sunday. If Halloween is on another evening during the week, we hold it on Halloween. There are some rough parts of town, and parents feel it is a lot safer to have the kids in a small area where everyone is watching out for the kids in the same way."
Paul Gettys
Montgomery Village Ward,
Seneca Maryland Stake
"This year we will be celebrating Halloween on Friday, Oct. 29, and Saturday, Oct. 30. Friday, we will be attending the Halloween parade at school and, later, the kids have class parties in the classroom. Friday evening, our family will be attending the local fitness center's costume party. On Saturday, we are attending the ward party that our local congregation is having that afternoon. Later, we have a family party with extended family. There we will eat a ton of food, watch scary movies and enjoy each other's company. Then, parents take their kids trick-or-treating out in the neighborhood. We don't have anything planned for Sunday! In fact, we will probably put a sign on our door to let others know that we don't give candy out on Sunday. Although, in my neighborhood, I don't think it will be needed because most of my neighbors celebrate Halloween the same way I do and they don't go out either!"
Kari Wendt
Orem, Utah