Halloween 2009 = Flop!

So this Halloween turned out more to be a flop than a hit. OK, it was a COMPLETE flop.

It's Saturday night, kids are dressed up. We are ready to hit the nearby city... but guess what? They celebrated Halloween, yes celebrated Halloween, on the 29th. Yes, you read that right. They had trick or treating (or 'Beggers Night') on Thursday. Which meant for us non-natives, no trick or treating... this all because the state of Ohio decides when you can celebrate holidays. Yep. That's right. So what next, you ask? Oh, we are celebrating Thanksgiving on New Years Eve. No, not really... that is just the bitter Niki speaking out loud.

So they are dressed and ready to go. Granville (nearest city), nope. Newark (next nearest city), nope. Heath (getting further), nope. Alexandria (our city), nope. Utica (city with Carly's school), nope. Finally after driving around for nearly an hour...in hopes of finding some sort of Halloween spirit, we gave up. Instead, we went out to dinner, then took the girls to target and BOUGHT them some candy! You could say that this halloween was more than a flop. Luckily they did not mind it so much. At least that is what they tell us.

So a little about Ohio and 'Beggers night' (sigh), well, I don't know all that much. OK, I don't know squat. I have no idea the reasoning behind it. I find it to be utterly lame. Lame, lame, lame. Why in the world would you change a holiday (that is recognized by most people) from a calendar date of October 31st, to October 29th? L.A.M.E! They even call it 'beggers night'. Oh, and to top it off... each city has curfew hours. So not only do you need to know what date you can trick or treat on, you have to know what time you can go too. Sigh. I am just so fed up with it. Minnesota made me love Halloween, California made me miss it, and Ohio makes me hate it! Figures.

OK, I am done Ohio bashing for the evening :) But really, isn't that the most asinine thing you have ever heard? Or is it just me? So yes, I am bitter. Mainly because I don't have a big bag of candy that I can raid, like you.

PS- I pulled this off of someone elses blog. This is what I needed to know... AHEAD OF TIME. Stupid. Lame. Dumb.

Oh, and of all these 'October 31st' cities... Westerville is the closest... at about 45 minutes away. Sigh.

Since Halloween, October 31, 2009, falls on a Saturday this year, you’ll find Columbus and many central Ohio communities have scheduled beggars night/trick or treating, for October 29 instead.

Franklin County Trick or Treat Dates
Bexley: 5:30-7:30 pm - Oct. 29
Columbus: 6-8pm - Oct. 29
Canal Winchester: 5:30-7:30 pm - Oct. 29
Dublin: 6-8 pm - Oct. 29
Gahanna: 6-8pm - Oct. 29
Grandview Heights: 6-8pm - Oct. 31
Grove City: 6-8pm Oct. 29
Groveport: 5:30-7 pm - Oct. 29
Hilliard: 6-8 pm - Oct. 29
Jefferson Township (Gahanna): 6-8pm - Oct. 29
Village of Lockbourne: 6-7:30 pm - Oct. 29
Madison Township: 5:30-7 pm - Oct. 29
New Albany: 6-8 pm - Oct. 29
Reynoldsburg: 6-8pm - Oct. 29
Upper Arlington: 6-8pm - Oct. 29
Westerville: 6-8pm - Oct. 31
Whitehall: 6-8pm - Oct. 29
Worthington: 6-8pm - Oct. 29

Delaware County Trick or Treat Dates
Galena: 6-7:15 p.m. - Oct. 31
Genoa Township (Westerville) 6-8 pm - Oct. 31
Lewis Center: 6-8pm - Oct. 31
Orange Township: 6-8pm - Oct. 31
Powell: 6-8pm - Oct. 31

Fairfield County Trick or Treat Dates
Lithopolis: 6-8 pm - Oct. 29
Pickerington: 6-8 pm - Oct. 29

Licking County Trick or Treat Dates
Granville: 5:30-7 pm - Oct. 29
Pataskala: 6-8 pm - Oct. 29