Effective immediately, Halloween is postponed in New Jersey.

Gov. Chris Christie issued an executive order declaring that no New Jersey town can hold trick-or-treating today, Oct. 31. If towns had planned to do so, they must move trick-or-treating and any public celebrations to Monday, Nov. 5.

Towns that already moved trick-or-treating to another day other than Oct. 31 can keep their plans, but state officials are still suggesting Monday instead.

“I’ve taken this action to minimize additional risks to lives and the public safety as we begin the process of rebuilding and recovering from Hurricane Sandy,” Christie said in a statement. “In too many communities in our state, the damage and losses from this storm are still being sorted out, and dangerous conditions abound even as our emergency management and response officials continue their work.

“As governor, it is my responsibility to use all available resources of the state government to protect against the emergency created by Hurricane Sandy – postponing Halloween celebrations by five days is a commonsense and necessary step to accomplish that.”

Click on the PDF, above, for the governor's full executive order.

Many local towns, including Middletown, have discussed rescheduling Halloween. On Tuesday, Middletown officials issued a statement postponing Halloween for a later, undetermined date.

"Street and sidewalk conditions are not adequate and there will likely not even be any street lighting by tomorrow. We would like to work with the Community to plan a safer more appropriate date later next week," the statement read.