Readers Say

Should Halloween parades taking place during school? Here’s what readers said.

"Kids deserve a day where they can have fun and dress up as their favorite characters."

By Laura Emde

October 17, 2023

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Earlier this month, Northborough Public Schools briefly canceled its annual Halloween parade, where elementary school students in the town wear their costumes to school on the spooky holiday.

In a letter to parents announcing the cancellation, the district cited its “core values of equity and inclusion,” CBS News Boston reported.

After concerns and complaints from parents, the superintendent of Northborough Public Schools announced that the parade would be reinstated, and that students would be allowed to wear their costumes to school.

We asked readers if they think Halloween parades and parties should take place during school hours. Of the 108 readers who responded to the poll, about 81% agreed with these events being in-school celebrations.

Many of the readers who voted this way, such as reader Jayson from Back Bay, pointed out that with all the stress of everyday life, kids should be able to have a day dedicated to having fun and just being kids.

“Because with all the stress and chaos going on in the world, kids deserve a day where they can have fun and dress up as their favorite characters,” he said.

Other readers who voted this way recognized that it may be difficult for some families to purchase Halloween costumes, however offered potential solutions and accommodations schools could offer to include as many students as possible.

“It’s fun. Keep a few costumes on hand for kids who don’t have one,” said reader Nancy Q. from Cape Cod. “Isn’t it worse for kids to miss out altogether when they hear their peers talking about how fun it was. FOMO is painful for a child.”

About 19% of readers, however, disagreed with having these celebrations during school hours. One reason why readers voted this way is that in some cultures and religions, Halloween is not celebrated.

“Many children from other countries or faiths do not celebrate Halloween,” said reader Dine from Edgartown. “Halloween parades should happen after school.”

Other readers pointed out how such events can be disruptive to the school day, as well as take valuable time out of a teacher’s day, as they’ll likely be helping students with their costumes.

“It takes an incredible amount of teacher time helping the kids dress up and teachers become responsible for all the costume parts,” said an anonymous reader from Shrewsbury. “Let the PTA organize it and have the parents be responsible for dressing up their kids.”

Read below to see what readers had to say about whether Halloween parades and parties should take place during school hours.

Some responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

Yes, they should take place during school

“The positives of holiday parades and celebrations greatly outweigh the negatives. No matter what, you can’t make everyone happy, so let’s give our children and teachers something to look forward to and something that breaks up the monotony of the school year.” — Erica B., Newbury

“It’s fun. Keep a few costumes on hand for kids who don’t have one. Isn’t it worse for kids to miss out altogether when they hear their peers talking about how much fun it was. FOMO is painful for a child.” — Nancy Q., Cape Cod

“Because with all the stress and chaos going on in the world, kids deserve a day where they can have fun and dress up as their favorite characters.” — Jayson, Back Bay

“Yes, most definitely. As a retired school therapist and mother the answer is yes! Kids need to enjoy school and have fun. They deserve to be part of the school family/community and these kinds of activities help to foster that feeling. It is so important. Making memories is so important! Keep that parade and party! Life is hard and we need to give these opportunities of lightless.” — Jill W., South Boston

“These kids need a break from studies at times. I realize not all parents can attend but it’s not really about the parents.” — Marie, Reading

“The Halloween parade is for the kids, they should get to enjoy it as an at-school event during their planned school day.” — Wayne, Tewksbury

No, they should be after school

“Many children from other countries or faiths do not celebrate Halloween. Halloween parades should happen after school.” — Dine, Edgartown

“I assume they are doing school during school. I think wearing costumes as long as they aren’t distracting is fine — but I would say wear whatever you want ANY day as long as it’s not distracting. But parades, and parties and candy? No candy, too many food allergies nowadays and the rest is so disruptive. But I also trust teachers to make these judgment calls so if they think it’s appropriate then okay.” — Anonymous, Winchester

“It takes an incredible amount of teacher time helping the kids dress up and teachers become responsible for all the costume parts. Let the PTA organize it and have the parents be responsible for dressing up their kids.” — Anonymous, Shrewsbury

“Halloween is not celebrated or is considered offensive in some cultures.” — Cellomom, Cambridge

Boston.com occasionally interacts with readers by conducting informal polls and surveys. These results should be read as an unscientific gauge of readers’ opinion.

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