Halloween this year saw the great trick-or-treating debate. Oct. 31 fell on a Sunday and in Utah, where many communities are predominately made up of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, families had to decide if trick-or-treating on Sunday was breaking the sabbath or if they should just trick-or-treat a day earlier.
Smart home company Vivint may have determined which day won out. It looked at the number of doorbell rings on its platform to conclude that Utah was the only state in the country that saw more doorbell rings on Saturday than on Sunday.
Vivint also found that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of rings per doorbell camera in 2020 was down 42% from Halloween 2019.
However, this year’s rings were up 85% from 2020 and up 7% from 2019.
In an October survey, The Salt Lake Tribune asked readers what day they planned to trick-or-treat and why. It garnered over 100 responses and highlighted a variety of opinions.
Some said Halloween should only be celebrated on Oct. 31. Others expressed concern about Sunday being a school night. Still others said that they would be open to either night and families should do what’s best for them.