TRENTON, NJ – Did you know Halloween is an officially recognized religious holiday in New Jersey? That’s right, if your kid misses school on Halloween, it’s an excused absence according to the New Jersey Department of Education.
The State Board of Education has formalized guidelines concerning student absences due to religious holidays for 2023 and Halloween, or Samhain as it is called in the Wiccan faith is on it.
Key provisions of the law on religious holidays in New Jersey include protection for students against academic or extracurricular disadvantages due to religious holiday absences, requirements for written parental excuses, and the proper recording of such absences.
Samhain (pronounced “sow-in” or “sah-win”) is an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the onset of winter, which traditionally takes place from the evening of October 31st to the evening of November 1st. It is seen as a time when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead becomes thin, allowing spirits and other supernatural entities to move more freely among the living.
Here are the other religious holidays for the month of October.
| Date | Observance |
|---|---|
| October 7 | Last Great Day (Church of God, Philadelphia Church of God) |
| October 7-8 | Sh’mini Atzeret (Jewish) |
| October 8 | Simchat Torah (Jewish) |
| October 15-24 | Navaratri (Hindu)* |
| October 18 | Milad Imam-uz-Zamaan (Islam Dawoodi Bohra)* |
| October 20 | Installation of the Scriptures as Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh) Birth of B’ab (Bah’i) |
| October 31 | Samhain (Wicca) |