A recent survey of Canadians about when Halloween should occur, 41% of British Columbians responded that they would like to see it moved to a Saturday instead of occurring every year on October 31st.
This survey was conducted by BC-based Research Co. who wanted to know Canadians’ thoughts on the matter after a petition was launched in the United States to move Halloween to a weekend.
While 41% of BC respondents were in favour of moving the day kids across the country go trick-or-treating, 42% answered that they believe Halloween should remain as-is and 17% said they were unsure.
The only province to want to move Halloween more than BC, was Quebec, with 45% saying the occasion should fall on a Saturday.
This survey also asked respondents what they thought was appropriate for children when it comes to costumes.
These questions brought up notions of cultural appropriation, racism and guns.
When asked if BC respondents think it is appropriate to have a childrens’ costume change the colour of the child’s skin, a surprising 33% said this is appropriate.
The respondents were also asked if they thought a costume would be appropriate if it refers to a culture that is not their own, 44% said it would be appropriate.
Ethnically stereotypical costumes for children got a 32% approval of appropriateness from British Columbians, while costumes involving fake guns got a 35% approval.
Notably, the percentage of people who think these costumes are appropriate are mostly European, while racialized people were less in favour of dressing up children as stereotypes or another race.
When asked all these same questions on costume appropriateness, but this time in reference to adult costumes, the percentages were lower across the board for people thinking these costumes are okay.
