Angus parents are pleading with the council after their children’s Halloween party was axed.
Inverbrothock Primary School’s intention to scrap the annual dress-up day along with its Christmas concert has been described as “ridiculous”.
Angus Council said the decision was made because some children were upset at last year’s Halloween event and some parents had expressed concerns about the cost of buying costumes.
But more than 350 online signatures have already been received, after parents received a letter from the school detailing the changes.
Tatiana Zorina, 31, moved to Arbroath from Russia in 2007 and works with D&A College in the town. She was moved to start the petition when her seven-year-old son came home from school with the letter in his bag.
She told The Courier: “It said the kids had been consulted about it but I asked Anton and he said it hadn’t been mentioned. He’s a bright kid and knows what’s going on.
“I spoke to lots of parents and we felt that this was a tradition to keep hold of. We don’t have Halloween in Russia and Orthodox Christmas is January 7, but if you live in Scotland, you should be celebrating your traditions.”
Tatiana believes the opportunity for children to celebrate Halloween is slipping away, due to changes in parenting and the reticence of older people to open their doors to guisers.
Stacey Brown, 30, has an eight-year-old daughter in P4. She said: “I’d just been online looking at costumes for Kaisha and she came home with the letter saying there was no more dress-up.
“I’m a big kid myself and have the house all decorated every Halloween. Sadly, a lot of people don’t open their doors and a school is surely the safest place for kids to celebrate it.”
Fiona Aitken, 30, whose son Liam is in P4, said: “The kids look forward to dressing up and going to school on these special days.
“I know that Halloween falls at the weekend this year but they could have it on the Friday before.”
The local authority said primary one children would take part in a Christmas nativity and there would be other dress up and down events during the school year.
A council spokesman said: “Given that Halloween falls on a weekend this October and some of our children were upset by certain costumes, masks and face paint designs last year, there are no plans for a dress up day at Inverbrothock Primary School this time around.
“Some parents also expressed concerns about the cost of providing costumes for their children.
“This decision was agreed with the parent council. There are other dress up/dress down events during the school year, including Children in Need, World Book Day and Comic Relief, which are enjoyed by pupils and support learning.
“Primary one children will be taking part in a Christmas Nativity this year and there are also two Scottish concerts planned for all pupils in January.”