When Is Halloween In 2022? Date, Day Of The Week And ... - TODAY

If you love Halloween, then it's never too early to start celebrating. Whether you're hosting the neighborhood boo bash or helping the kids decide what costume to wear trick-or-treating, there's no time like the present to start plotting out your Halloween activities this year.

But before you can get official plans underway, you might be wondering, “When is Halloween?” And, more important, what day of the week does it fall on?

As you might expect, what day Halloween lands on is critical to making plans. If it's on a work or school night, then chances are pretty good that whatever festivities you've got in mind for the October holiday, they'll have to end on the earlier side.

But, if Halloween falls on, say, a weekend, well, that's a whole different story.

Fortunately, we've got everything you need to know on when Halloween is this year, as well as a host of other fascinating facts and Halloween trivia on the history of this hauntingly-good holiday.

With the date and day on lock, the only things you need to worry about between now and Halloween are making a list of all the scary horror movies you plan to watch and cueing up your favorite Halloween songs playlist before the doorbell rings.

When Is Halloween in 2025?

In 2025, Halloween falls on Friday, Oct. 31.

Yes, you read that right. Halloween falls on a Friday, which means this year is guaranteed to be totally next-level given that there's an entire weekend to celebrate the spooky holiday.

You might be interested to know that the last time Halloween fell on Friday was way back in 2014. After 2025, Halloween won’t be on a Friday again until 2031.

Is Halloween On the Same Day Every Year?

Halloween is always observed on Oct. 31. That said, the day of the week it falls on changes from year to year.

In 2024, Halloween was observed on Thursday, Oct. 31. Next year, in 2026, Halloween will be on a Saturday, which is scary good news. In 2027, Oct. 31 falls on a Sunday.

The History of Halloween

Halloween has a long and interesting history that’s as full of spirit and intrigue as the holiday itself.

Many believe that Halloween originated with the Celts, who lived two centuries ago in the areas now known as Ireland, England and northern France. On Oct. 31, they celebrated the festival of Samhain (pronounced SAH-win) 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?

Halloween arrived in its near-modern form in the 1840s when Irish immigrants arrived in the United States to escape the Irish Potato Famine.

Nearly two centuries later, Halloween is now celebrated in the United States, Ireland, Italy, England, Mexico, Portugal and many 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 Halloween traditions, like queuing up scary movies, decking out our houses with spooky decorations and competing in costume contests, among other popular Halloween activities.

As for the impact the holiday has on the economy, Halloween is big business. Last year, 73 percent of consumers planned to participate in Halloween-related activities, spending upwards of $11.6 billion (yes, billion) on decorations, costumes, candy and greeting cards, according to findings from the National Retail Federation.