The season of scary will soon be upon us, and that means Halloween isn't far behind.
If your blood runs black and orange instead of red, you're likely already planning which group costume you and the fam are going to wear trick-or-treating and taking the vintage decorations down from the attic.
Even if you haven't given the holiday a single thought since you finished eating the Halloween candy last November, it's never too early to ensure you're ready for when the little ghosts and witches come a-knockin' at your door. So you may be wondering, "When is Halloween this year?"
Well, good news: We've got all the details on what day Halloween falls on in 2023, and we've also answered all of your burning questions on the holiday including the history, why we celebrate it and what date it falls on each year.
Once you're armed with all these amazing Halloween facts, you can get a head start deciding what kind of Jack-O'-Lantern to carve and which vampire-inspired nails to choose that will best shows off your Halloween spirit.
Even if Thanksgiving is more your jam, that's OK, too. Because once Halloween is over, the countdown to Turkey Day will begin. Just saying.
Either way, here's everything you need to know.
When is Halloween in 2023?
Before making any big plans, first things first. Halloween falls on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.
While most of us wish it would happen on a weekend, this year the spooky holiday lands early in the week, on a Tuesday. However, if you play your cards right, you can celebrate the weekend before, then keep the party going right through Nov. 1.
Either way, it's never too early to start working on your costume, brewing up monster-inspired cocktails for your favorite ghouls and gals or conjuring up any other fun Halloween activities.
Is Halloween on the same day every year?
Though the day of the week it falls on changes every year, Halloween itself always falls on October 31.
So, for example, in 2022, Halloween was on a Monday. We already know that this year it's on Tuesday. Naturally, you might assume that next year, in 2024, Halloween will be on a Wednesday.
However, given that 2024 is a Leap Year, Halloween will be celebrated on a Thursday next year. And 2025? You guessed it, it'll once again land on a Friday, which is something we can all look forward to.
What is the history of Halloween?
Halloween has a long, storied history that’s as full of spirit and intrigue as the holiday itself.
It originated with the Celts, who lived two centuries ago in the areas now known as Ireland, England and northern France. On October 31, they celebrated the festival of Samhain to mark the end of summer before the new year started on November 1.
In other words, it was a time to party before the cold weather and snow arrived.
But here's where the haunts of Halloween come into play. The Celts believed that on the night before the new year, ghosts had the ability to return to the earth. As a result, they wore costumes to ward off evil spirits, made bonfires and tried to predict the future through fortune-telling.
Once the Romans conquered areas of the Celts, they began to borrow some of the Samhain traditions like bobbing for apples. The holiday continued to live on in various forms through Christian cultures.
Why do we celebrate Halloween today?
Eventually, European immigrants brought the holiday along with them to the United States. It arrived in its near-modern form in the 1840s when Irish immigrants came to our shores to escape the Irish Potato Famine.
Nowadays, Halloween is celebrated in the United States, Ireland, Italy, England, Mexico, Portugal and other countries around the world.
While we may not necessarily wear costumes with the intention of warding off evil spirits, we’ve developed our own modern-day customs like watching scary movies, decking out our houses with spooky decorations and competing in costume contests.