New to San Antonio? Here’s what you need to know about Halloween and trick-or-treating customs here

San Antonio newcomers wonder about local customs

Trick or treating is considered a 'higher risk' Halloween activity by the CDC. (Copyright 2020 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.)

SAN ANTONIO – “What day and time is trick-or-treating?”

Those of us who were born and raised in San Antonio may find that a strange question, but it's being asked in many Facebook neighborhood groups. Some KSAT viewers are emailing and sending direct messages over social media asking the same thing.

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If you’ve lived in the San Antonio area your whole life, you may not realize that some neighborhoods, communities and cities have rules regarding trick-or-treating. For instance, some areas have age restrictions — a fact that was making headlines a couple years ago.

Other areas have designated dates and times for trick-or-treating. The town of Anniston, Alabama announced this week that Halloween would be observed on Oct. 30 this year. There has even been a push to create a National Trick or Treat Day.

Here in San Antonio and surrounding communities, there are no such limitations. Kids go trick-or-treating on Oct. 31 around dinner time. You may see some younger children as early as 4:30 or 5 p.m. while older kids may wait until 7 p.m or so.

It's traditionally assumed that homes with their porch lights on are participating in the holiday, those with no lights should be avoided.

And it’s generally accepted that trick-or-treating should end between 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. at the latest.

Of course, some neighborhoods and communities have additional trick-or-treating events throughout the month of October, but these guidelines are fairly universal for the San Antonio area on Halloween night.

Still have questions about trick-or-treating? Ask them below.

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About the Author:

Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.