When is Halloween 2026?
Saturday, October 31, 2026. Halloween is on October 31 every year.
Costumes, pumpkins and trick-or-treating: Halloween needs planning, especially if the costume is homemade. Use the countdown to see how many weekends are left for decorating and carving.
Where Halloween comes from
Halloween goes back to Samhain, a Celtic festival that marked the end of the harvest and the start of winter. People believed the line between the living and the dead was thin that night, so they lit bonfires and wore disguises. The Church later placed All Saints' Day on November 1, and the evening before became All Hallows' Eve, which was shortened to Halloween.
Irish and Scottish immigrants brought the customs to North America in the 19th century. In Ireland, jack-o'-lanterns were carved from turnips; in America, pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve, and they took over. Trick-or-treating spread across the US after World War II.
A Halloween planning timeline
- Six weeks or more ahead: pick a costume. Popular store-bought costumes sell out in the last weeks, and kids' sizes go first. Homemade and group costumes need the most lead time.
- Four weeks ahead: put up outdoor decorations, send party invitations and buy candy, which keeps well.
- Two weeks ahead: do a full costume try-on with shoes, makeup and anything that has to be carried all evening. Fix what pinches now.
- Two to four days ahead: carve the pumpkins. An uncarved pumpkin keeps for weeks in a cool spot, but a carved one starts to soften within days, faster in warm weather.
- On the day: check your town's official trick-or-treat hours. In many places kids go out from dusk until about 8 or 9 p.m.
Safety tips for trick-or-treaters
- Add reflective tape or a glow stick to dark costumes and give every child a flashlight.
- Choose face paint over masks that block side vision, and test the paint on a small patch of skin first.
- Check candy at home before kids eat it, and throw out anything unwrapped or homemade from strangers.
- Not handing out candy this year? Turn off the porch light, the usual signal in US neighborhoods that a house is not taking part.
- A teal pumpkin on the porch signals that you hand out non-food treats, which helps kids with food allergies.
Hosting a party with a costume contest or games? The visual timer keeps every round fair. Once October is over, the next big countdown is Thanksgiving.
Halloween dates for the coming years
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Saturday, October 31, 2026 |
| 2027 | Sunday, October 31, 2027 |
| 2028 | Tuesday, October 31, 2028 |
| 2029 | Wednesday, October 31, 2029 |
| 2030 | Thursday, October 31, 2030 |
| 2031 | Friday, October 31, 2031 |
Show this countdown on your stream
Add the countdown to OBS Studio or Streamlabs as a browser source: paste the URL below, set the size to 800 × 300 and the background stays transparent. It counts down to October 31, 2026 and shows "Happy Halloween!" at zero. More options in the OBS timer.
Counting down to something else, like a trip, a birthday or a deadline? Use the countdown to any date. For shorter waits there are timers for every duration.
Frequently asked questions
How many days until Halloween 2026?
As of today, Thursday, October 22, 2026, there are 9 days until Halloween 2026. The countdown at the top updates every second and uses the time zone of your device.
How many weeks until Halloween?
There are 1 week and 2 days until Halloween. That includes 1 weekend and 7 business days.
How many sleeps until Halloween?
9 sleeps. Every night counts one down, and the morning after the last sleep is Halloween.
What day of the week is Halloween 2026?
Halloween 2026 falls on a Saturday.
When is Halloween 2027?
Halloween 2027 is on Sunday, October 31, 2027.
Why is Halloween on October 31?
It is the evening before All Saints' Day on November 1, which is where the name All Hallows' Eve comes from. The date also lines up with the old Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of the harvest.
What time does trick-or-treating start?
Most trick-or-treaters head out around dusk and finish by 8 or 9 p.m. Many cities and towns publish official hours, so check your local website or news before the evening.
Is Halloween a public holiday?
No. Halloween is not a federal or state holiday in the US, so schools, banks and offices stay open. Many schools hold costume parades during the day instead.