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How Schools Celebrate Halloween
by Ann SvensenHallowe'en, All Hallows Eve, The Day of the Dead ... October 31 has a long, complicated history. From pagan gods to pin the nose on the pumpkin, Halloween means different things to different people. That may explain why schools in the U.S. celebrate (or don't celebrate) Halloween in a variety of ways. This is what some schools are up to this year:
Parade of the Horribles
At Applewild School in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, first through third graders celebrate with a "Parade of the Horribles." Students show up at school in a costume and parade their ghoulish garb from classroom to classroom.
Harvest Kids' Day
Concerned by the vandalism and rowdiness that can accompany Halloween, Whitman Post Elementary School in Rockton, Illinois, has dumped the name but not the festivities. On October 31, its students celebrate Harvest Kids' Day. Students don't dress in costumes, but they do carve pumpkins, play games, and decorate cookies. Principal Alan Musial says that they've held onto the best Halloween traditions while avoiding the holiday's pitfalls.
Halloween's Not For Everyone
The Jewish Community Center's Ta'Enna Preschool in Palo Alto, California doesn't celebrate Halloween at all. They see it strictly as a Christian holiday. (Ironically, some Christians don't recognize Halloween because of its pagan origins.) Dress-up for Jewish children occurs on Purim.
In most cases, there are no district policies governing the celebration of Halloween in schools. Superintendents tend to leave the decision to deck the halls with cobwebs up to each school's principal.
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