the United States

Quick answer

When is Halloween 2015?

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Halloween 2015 is Saturday, October 31, 2015. Halloween is observed on October 31, so the date is fixed while the weekday changes each year. Check local schedules for schools, events, employers, and travel plans.

Open the October 2015 calendar, print a monthly PDF, or subscribe to the United States holiday calendar in Google, Apple, or Outlook.

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Not a U.S. federal public holiday. See all U.S. public holidays for a full 2015 list.

Month calendar

October 2015

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Exact date

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Calendar rule

Halloween is observed on October 31, so the date is fixed while the weekday changes each year.

Holiday status

Not a U.S. federal public holiday

Halloween is widely observed in the United States, but it is not a federal public holiday.

What Halloween means in the United States

Halloween is October 31. It is not a U.S. federal public holiday, so most offices and schools run a normal schedule, with evening trick-or-treating and events layered on top. The planning problem is less “is the bank closed?” and more “what weekday is the 31st, and when do cities schedule safe-trick-or-treat hours?”

When October 31 falls on a Sunday or Monday, many neighborhoods shift community events to the prior Saturday. Retail treats the whole last week of October as peak for costumes and candy. If you ship party supplies, the weekend before Halloween is the practical cutoff for ground service in many areas.

Schools may host afternoon parties with strict food-allergy rules. Some districts ban homemade treats; others limit costumes. Read the school’s October newsletter. Employers sometimes host optional afternoon events; that is culture, not a public holiday.

Public-safety notes are local: some cities publish earlier trick-or-treat windows, street lighting checks, or downtown event maps. If you drive in residential areas after dark, expect higher pedestrian activity than a normal Thursday night.

For e-commerce and warehouses, late October volume can rival early November holiday prep. If you run logistics, staff the week as a mini peak even though the federal calendar is quiet.

At a glance

  • Fixed date: October 31; not a U.S. federal public holiday
  • Community events often move to the nearest Saturday when the 31st is awkward
  • Schools usually open; parties follow local rules
  • Retail and shipping peak the week before, not only the night of

Practical planning

  1. Check your city’s published trick-or-treat hours if you host or attend.
  2. If you ship costumes, use the prior weekend as the deliver-by target.
  3. If you manage a store, plan returns and leftover candy inventory for early November.

How 2015 compares to 2014

In 2014, the date was Friday, October 31, 2014. In 2015, the date is Saturday, October 31, 2015. The month and day stay the same, but the weekday changes as the calendar advances. The gap is 365 day(s) later year over year, which reflects whether the prior year included a leap day. Use the weekday, not only the fixed date, when you compare school schedules, shipping cutoffs, event hours, or travel plans.

Last year: Friday, October 31, 2014 · This page: Saturday, October 31, 2015

Other U.S. observances in October 2015

Same month, different rules—useful when you are planning October travel or event spacing.

Weekends, time off, and scheduling

Long weekends, substitute days, and school make-up days vary. Use the exact date with your employer, school, or state calendar when planning travel and time off.

When Halloween falls (multi-year)

Exact calendar dates and weekdays—useful for halloween 2024–2022 search intent.

Year and date for Halloween
YearDateWeekday
2013Oct 31Thursday
2014Oct 31Friday
2015 this pageOct 31Saturday
2016Oct 31Monday
2017Oct 31Tuesday
2018Oct 31Wednesday
2019Oct 31Thursday
2020Oct 31Saturday
2021Oct 31Sunday
2022Oct 31Monday

Questions about Halloween 2015

When is Halloween 2015, exactly?

Halloween in 2015 is Saturday, October 31, 2015 (use your local time zone for same-day events). The date on the calendar is fixed by the U.S. rule in our guide, not a guess. If you need a single ISO-style line for travel systems, the date is 2015-10-31.

Why does Halloween land on that Saturday in 2015?

Halloween is observed on October 31, so the date is fixed while the weekday changes each year. For fixed-date observances, the weekday is the part that changes from year to year. That weekday is often what determines school events, shipping deadlines, restaurant demand, travel timing, or whether a weekend observed closure applies.

How does the 2015 date compare to 2014?

In 2014, the date was Friday, October 31, 2014. In 2015, the date is Saturday, October 31, 2015. The month and day stay the same, but the weekday changes as the calendar advances. The gap is 365 day(s) later year over year, which reflects whether the prior year included a leap day. Use the weekday, not only the fixed date, when you compare school schedules, shipping cutoffs, event hours, or travel plans.

Is Halloween 2015 a U.S. federal public holiday, and do banks and post offices close?

This date is not a universal “everyone is off work” U.S. federal public holiday in the same way as, for example, New Year’s Day. Halloween is widely observed in the United States, but it is not a federal public holiday. If you are checking “open or closed” for a specific place, use that organization’s own holiday list rather than a generic U.S. label alone.

What about Halloween in 2016—and how should I use the multi-year table?

In 2016, Halloween is Monday, October 31, 2016. The table on this page is meant for multi-year search intent: you can line up several years at once to see when the same observance will fall near a trip, a budget cycle, or a school year boundary. For subscription calendars, also open the year view in AnyCalendar to catch adjacent holidays.

Where can I see this day on a full U.S. holiday list and in my own calendar?

The United States public-holiday list for 2015 (with long-weekend notes) is on anycalendar.org/holidays/us. You can also open the october 2015 month view, the full 2015 year view, and use the subscribe and print tools on AnyCalendar to move these dates into Google, Apple, Outlook, or a PDF you can print.