When Is Halloween?

Children on porch on Halloween
Trick or treat! Children prepare to head out for some Halloween fun. Ryan McVay/Digital Vision/Getty Images

Halloween is largely celebrated as a secular holiday in the United States, but it is properly the eve or vigil of All Saints Day, one of the most important Catholic feasts of the liturgical year and a Holy Day of Obligation. When is Halloween?

How Is the Date of Halloween Determined?

As the eve of the feast of All Saints or All Hallows Day (November 1), Halloween always falls on the same date—October 31—which means that it falls on a different day of the week each year.

When Is Halloween This Year?

Halloween 2019: Thursday, October 31, 2019

When Is Halloween in Future Years?

Here are the days of the week on which Halloween will be celebrated next year and in future years:

  • Halloween 2020: Saturday, October 31, 2020
  • Halloween 2021: Sunday, October 31, 2021
  • Halloween 2022: Monday, October 31, 2022
  • Halloween 2023: Tuesday, October 31, 2023
  • Halloween 2024: Thursday, October 31, 2024
  • Halloween 2025: Friday, October 31, 2025
  • Halloween 2026: Saturday, October 31, 2026
  • Halloween 2027: Sunday, October 31, 2027
  • Halloween 2028: Tuesday, October 31, 2028
  • Halloween 2029: Wednesday, October 31, 2029
  • Halloween 2030: Thursday, October 31, 2030

When Was Halloween in Previous Years?

Here are the days of the week when Halloween fell in previous years, going back to 2007:

  • Halloween 2007: Wednesday, October 31, 2007
  • Halloween 2008: Friday, October 31, 2008
  • Halloween 2009: Saturday, October 31, 2009
  • Halloween 2010: Sunday, October 31, 2010
  • Halloween 2011: Monday, October 31, 2011
  • Halloween 2012: Wednesday, October 31, 2012
  • Halloween 2013: Thursday, October 31, 2013
  • Halloween 2014: Friday, October 31, 2014
  • Halloween 2015: Saturday, October 31, 2015
  • Halloween 2016: Monday, October 31, 2016
  • Halloween 2017: Tuesday, October 31, 2017
  • Halloween 2018: Wednesday, October 31, 2018

More on Halloween

While Halloween has a long history among Catholics in both Ireland and the United States, some Christians—including, in recent years, some Catholics—have come to believe that Halloween is a pagan or even satanic holiday in which Christians should not take part.

This idea is intimately connected to fundamentalist attacks on the Catholic Church. Here's Why the Devil Hates Halloween (and hopes you will, too). What Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had to say about Halloween.

Of course, the decision on whether children should take part in Halloween festivities is up to their parents, but the fears of recent years—including safety concerns about candy tampering and satanic sacrifice—have been proved to be urban legends.

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Your Citation
Richert, Scott P. "When Is Halloween?" Learn Religions, Apr. 5, 2023, learnreligions.com/when-is-halloween-541621. Richert, Scott P. (2023, April 5). When Is Halloween? Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/when-is-halloween-541621 Richert, Scott P. "When Is Halloween?" Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/when-is-halloween-541621 (accessed March 19, 2024).