Everyone wants to be a part of something special or do some sort of scientific research. I do not differ from that narrative; we as human individuals of skepticism as well as curiosity try to find out more about people. The topic I am most curious about has led me to speculate how and when people celebrate Halloween and why they put up décor when they do. So, I will set off to try and connect with St Edward students to find out when they get nestled into their spooky season activities and their tendencies.
From my research, I have discovered that 41% of people at St. Edward put up their decorations around the beginning of October. This had surprised me because my family had never done it this way; we have been notorious for putting up décor later in the month. Although, I understand why people put their decorations up so early. Brayden Collins-Langfield, ’25, explains, “The actual month has arrived, and so now it is reasonable to put out décor, carve pumpkins, and find a costume. Celebrating holidays prior to the actual month is nonsensical.” Mrs. Schmidt also thinks this; she told me she puts her décor up on the first of October in her classroom and begins wearing fun socks to set her in to spooky season mode. There is a part of who I am that agrees with this, but another part of me that likes to wait even longer. I do not feel that the time to decorate comes until the weather profoundly changes to be colder. When there is a chill at night and the moon is bright, this is when it feels the perfect time to set out those spooky decorations.
The early-October people like to celebrate all month long, but these people might just have the edge on pride. The mid-October people have strong opinions too and they comprised the second most popular opinion, at 29%. Lexi Mohr, ’27, had a great response to this serious topic saying, “I always start celebrating the week of Halloween since Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday”. I like this answer for two reasons. One, not everyone has to like the same holiday, there is a reason people have free speech to voice their opinions. Two, we need more people to have different takes on things. Mrs. Roesslein, another faculty member here at our beloved school, thinks you should put out décor during the middle of the month rather than the beginning. While she likes putting up decor, Brooke Cozzi, ’26, likes to celebrate with haunted houses later in the month because they do not open until then. I personally do not like haunted houses, but I can understand where people are coming from when trying to state evidence and reasoning towards their input.
No matter how much someone loves Halloween, everyone has a different point of view. I really do think that the middle of October is the best time to start celebrating since every fall sport as well as school starts to slow down as you get in the swing of everything. Whether you celebrate this holiday all year like Coach Aydt and Sophia Reich, ’25, or if you barely celebrate like alumnus Coach Shane Finnane, ’10, we hope you have a great spooky season!
