It’s a six hour holiday. NOT A SEASON.

Yesterday I worked at a Halloween-themed wedding.  Masks were worn by the bride and groom and many of their guests, centerpieces consisted of ceramic jack-o-lanterns filled with candy, and guests danced to The Monster Mash.

It was one of the finest Halloween-themed wedding I have ever seen.  Just the right amount of Halloween paraphernalia to bring home the theme without taking away from the wedding.   

I have only one complaint:  It wasn’t Halloween.

The wedding was held on October 30th, one day before Halloween, and contrary to what seems to be becoming popular opinion, Halloween is not a seasonal holiday. 

It is a single day.

In fact, it’s not even a day.  It’s more like a six hour period from about 4:00-10:00 on Halloween night.  Masks are donned, children trick-or-treat, eggs are thrown, and that’s it. 

At least that’s how it should be. 

But for reasons that escape me, Halloween seems to be stretching itself across the October calendar, filling days around the holiday as if it were a blob of spreading goo. 

Yesterday thousands of college football fans filled stadiums, dressed in all manner of Halloween costume. 

But it wasn’t Halloween.

Yesterday thousands of citizens gathered on The National Mall to rally with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert for reason and sanity, and many of them also donned masks and capes and costumes.

But it wasn’t Halloween.  

And on Monday night, when the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts face off, there is a good chance that we will see spectators dressed in Halloween masks, even though at that point, Halloween will be 364 days away.    

Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are a part of the holiday season.   

Baseball is played over the course of a season.

Autumn is a season.

Halloween is not.