万圣节是一年中最恐怖的一天吗？比万圣节更恐怖的，是没有时间参加万圣节派对。最近，美国万圣节及服饰协会发起网上请愿活动，要求将万圣节改到每年10月的最后一个周六，这样对大人孩子学校都好处多多。话说，美国人民为了好好过个万圣节，也是够拼的！

If you're anything like me, you've spent the 364 days since last Halloween keeping a meticulous list of potential costumes for this Halloween. And in spite of your efforts, you will still find yourself scrambling to transform your high school gym uniform into something that screams "Nancy Drew" for a party that began 10 minutes ago. To be honest, we could all use an extension on Halloween -- it's just not convenient.

如果你像我一样，在去年万圣节之后的这364天里，一直在认真地琢磨今年万圣节该穿什么。你下了很大的功夫，可是在万圣节派对开始10分钟后，你还在为了把你的高中健身服改成能发出“神探南茜”尖叫的奇装异服而抓狂。老实说，我们真希望万圣节可以改个时间，因为这个时间实在是太不方便了。

Fortunately, the Halloween & Costume Association feels the same way -- and they've started a national petition to formally change the date of Halloween.

幸运的是，万圣节及服饰协会跟我们想法一样。该协会发起了一项全美请愿活动，想要正式修改万圣节的日期。

 The Change.org petition, which already has nearly 32,000 signature, demands that all Halloween celebrations take place on the last Saturday of October going forward, rather than the 31st. "It's time for a Safer, Longer, Stress-Free Celebration!" the site exclaims.

这项发布在change.org网站上的请愿已经征集到近3.2万个签名，请愿要求今后万圣节在10月最后一个周六举行，而不是10月31日。协会在该请愿网站表示：“申请万圣节改期是为了一个更安全、更持久、更放松的节日！”

According to the association, 51% of millennials say Halloween is their favorite holiday. There is no citation for this statistic, but regardless of its mathematical accuracy, the sentiment maintains: people like Halloween, so why not give it a full day?

据该协会介绍，51%的千禧一代受访者称万圣节是他们最喜爱的节日。这一数据并没有出处，但抛开其数据准确性不谈，其中表达的情绪是不容怀疑的：人们喜爱万圣节，为什么不能让人们有一整天的时间来庆祝呢？

 This fall, spooky fun and entertainment can be found all over Shanghai Disney Resort as the Halloween season returns in full force. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The group also claims that there are 38,000 Halloween-related injuries each year, that 70% of parents don't accompany their kids trick or treating, and that 82% of parents don’t use high visibility aids on their kid's costumes.

该协会还表示，每年有3.8万起与万圣节有关的受伤事件发生，70%的家长不陪孩子参加“不给糖果就捣蛋”活动，82%的家长也没给孩子在衣服上贴高亮度的标识。

Although it wasn't directly stated in the official petition, commenters in favor of the movement noted that having it on a weekend is a win for schools, who have to deal with issues surrounding costumes — particularly those with masks and weapons — and for teachers who have to continue to educate especially distracted students.

尽管正式的请愿中没有直接提到，但支持这一请愿活动的网友评论说，万圣节改到周末对学校和老师来说都是个好消息。之前，学校还得处理万圣节服饰带来的一系列麻烦，特别是一些孩子还会带面具和玩具武器，活动结束以后，老师们还要继续给学生们上课，可学生们的心思早被之前的活动带飞了。

Throughout the comments on the petition, parents enumerate the benefits to a Saturday Halloween: no school the next day, trick or treating during daylight hours, more one-on-one parent-child time, and, as user Nolan Chidester puts it, "Halloween on a Wednesday SUCCKKKKKKKKKKKSSS."

家长们也在请愿活动页面的评论中列举了将万圣节改在周六的好处：第二天孩子不用上学，可以在白天玩“不给糖果就捣蛋”，更多的一对一亲子时间。正如网友诺兰-奇德斯特所说：“万圣节在周三简直太糟糕了”。

Then there are the haters. "This is ridiculous. People already celebrate the weekend before regardless of what day of the week it falls on," one user writes on Facebook. "You clearly do not know the origins of Halloween. This is just to sell more costumes and decorations. Halloween is a religious holiday for some people.”

但也有人表示反对。一位网友在脸书上写道：“这太荒唐了。不论万圣节是一周中的哪天，人们都已经在之前的周末庆祝过了。你肯定不清楚万圣节的来历。改到周末就是为了卖更多的服饰和装饰品。对一些人来说，万圣节是个宗教节日。”

 我同意这次请愿，签了名。万圣节的多数活动通常都已经改到最近的周六举行了。

 这是个好主意，我完全同意。

 每年都在周末过万圣节才好！

According to the History Channel, Halloween dates backs to Celtic traditions from over 2,000 years ago. On the 31st each year, Celts would light bonfires and don costumes to ward off ghosts and evil spirits. Typically, the holiday fell on this day in particular, as it was "when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred."

据历史频道报道，万圣节来自于两千多年前的凯尔特人传统。在每年的10月31日，凯尔特人会点燃篝火，穿上奇装异服吓退鬼怪幽灵。万圣节定在这一天，因为在这一天“生灵和逝者之间的界限变得模糊”。

It remains to be seen whether or not the Halloween & Costume Association will succeed in its efforts to alter the date on which we trick or treat annually. Holidays are always more fun when you can actually take the time to enjoy them without worrying about work or school. All in favor?

万圣节及服饰协会这个更改万圣节日期的请愿能否成功，我们还要拭目以待。真的有时间尽情享受假期，而不用担心工作或学习时，假期会更有趣。大家都赞同吧？