Halloween is a holiday beloved by people of all ages. It is an ancient tradition, whose origins can date back to the Celtic festival of Samhain 2,000 years ago. In roughly the 700s, Pope Gregory III named November 1st All Saints’ Day. The night before All Saints’ Day was known as All Hallows’ Eve, which later became known as Halloween. The celebration for All Hallows’ Eve borrowed several traditions from Samhain, including bonfires and dressing up as saints, angels, and devils. The holiday came to America in the second half of the 19th century after a surge of European immigrants (History of Halloween, History.com).

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Residents of New Jersey are unfortunately familiar with the cancellation of Halloween. Many of them remember Halloween 2012, when Hurricane Sandy made the streets too dangerous for Trick-or-Treaters. This year, however, there is a different monster looming over them. The covid-19 pandemic has caused the shutdown of many things over the past several months, and although the state is in a far better place than earlier this year with lower coronavirus case numbers, New Jersey is not completely in the clear. This means some changes to Halloween in 2020.

“As much as we want people to stay home and stay safe, there will definitely be people who don’t follow the rules,” spoke sophomore Kerrin Sullivan.

When it comes to festive fall activities, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends you avoid high-traffic areas, such as hayrides, indoor costume parties, and traditional trick-or-treating. Towns and cities in 38 states have already canceled trick-or-treating and parades. Other states are working on creative ways to continue these traditions with added health-safety precautions. Participating in online costume contests, decorating your house, and carving pumpkins are all safe activities recommended by the CDC. Schools nationwide are trying to figure out how to continue their Halloween celebrations. Many have decided to have outdoor, socially-distanced parades, where students can safely show off their costumes. Governor Murphy has given the “OK” for Halloween to proceed as normal in the state of New Jersey, but that does not mean precautions should not be taken. As far as trick-or-treating goes, well…things are tricky, to say the least. It is difficult to find a safe way for children to go door-to-door as they have in Halloween’s past, but there are a few ideas circulating as to how to make it safe.

If you are planning to leave out a bowl of candy, it is recommended that each piece of pre-wrapped candy be thoroughly sanitized. As for Trick-or-Treaters, masks and gloves are necessary this year. In regards to Pascack Hills’ festivities, students have plenty of ideas on how Halloween should be handled (Hristina Byrnes and John Harrington, USA Today). 

“Everyone should stick to small groups of friends this year, it’s the safest option,” stated sophomore Anoosheh Mahmood. 

Dressing up for Halloween has been a senior tradition and privilege at Pascack Hills for as long as anyone can remember. It is an event that seniors look forward to, and they tend to put a lot of thought into their costumes. However, Pascack Hills has been temporarily remote due to new covid-19 cases since Monday, October 26th. Therefore, students will not be in school on the 29th and 30th, the days that seniors would have worn their costumes. Students have lost a long-awaited day, and there are lots of mixed emotions. 

“It’s very disappointing that we won’t be in school on Halloween because we waited three years to take part in the tradition and now we’ll never be able to do it. I was looking forward to dressing up in funny costumes with friends, so it’s hard accepting that we’ll never get that as a senior class,” explains senior Laura Varano.