Fun Facts about Halloween

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You’ve probably been celebrating Halloween almost your entire life. Despite this, how much do you really know about it? Here are some Halloween facts that you probably didn’t know about this scary and exciting holiday. Halloween has become a worldwide cultural phenomenon, though how it’s celebrated varies globally based on local traditions.

What are some fun facts about Halloween?

The holiday dates back over 2,000 years to the Celtic festival Samhain, which marked the end of the harvest season.

What are some spooky facts about Halloween?

Halloween originates from an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain where people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. They believed Halloween night was the one night of the year spirits could walk the earth. Samhain rituals often involved divination and communicating with the dead. People would try to predict the future about marriage, health, luck, and death. During the Middle Ages, people practiced certain rituals on Halloween thinking they could spot demons and witches. Priests would say prayers over homes to rid them of evil spirits.

Why is it called Halloween?

It is called Halloween because it gets its name from “All Hallows’ Eve”, the night before All Saints’ Day on November 1st. All Saints’ Day was a day to honor all Christian saints and martyrs.

-Pumpkins weren’t originally used as jack-o-lanterns.

In the past, if you wanted to carve a jack-o-lantern, you would have needed to use a turnip, potato or beet instead. People used to carve scary faces into turnips, beets, and potatoes to scare away evil spirits before pumpkins became popular for jack-o-lanterns. The tradition of carving jack-o-lanterns comes from the Irish legend of Stingy Jack who was cursed to roam the earth with only a carved turnip and burning coal.

-Reason why orange & black.

It is said that these colors were chosen because black represents the “death” of summer and orange represents the fall harvest.

-If you are abnormally scared of Halloween, there is a name for it.

Samhainophobia means having an irrational fear of this holiday.

-In the U.S., black cats are thought to bring bad luck.

Some animal shelters won’t allow them to be adopted around the time of Halloween as they are fearful that some individuals will try to do inhumane things with them. In the U.K., white cats, not black, are thought to have bad luck. Animal shelters used to not adopt out black cats near Halloween for fear of abuse.

-Not all pumpkins can fit on your front porch.

There have been pumpkins that weighed a whopping 1,872 pounds. Illinois produces the most pumpkins of any state, over 500 million pounds per year.

-Americans spend a lot of money on Halloween.

It’s the second-highest-grossing holiday (Christmas is number one). It’s estimated that around $10 billion is spent each year on Halloween-related purchases. Surprisingly, the most popular day to buy Halloween candy is on October 28th. Halloween candy sales in the US reach up to $3 billion annually.

-Even though you might think you can dress up as whatever you want on Halloween, that’s not the case in some states.

It’s actually illegal to dress up as a priest in the state of Alabama.

-There are some interesting legends associated with Halloween.

One of them states that if you see a spider on this day, it’s your loved one’s spirit watching over you. Trick or treat is said to have started as a Celtic tradition where people would put out treats to feed wandering spirits. It then evolved where young people would dress up and asked for money or food in exchange for songs, poems or “tricks.”  The most interesting is that of Jack-O-Lantern. Legend has it that an Irishman named Jack tricked the devil several times so after his demise he was denied entrance into both heaven and hell.  While lurking the earth he used his lantern to steer people away from their paths.

-The day before Halloween is National Candy Corn Day.

Around 35 million pounds of this confection is produced every year. Candy corn was originally called “chicken feed” and sold in boxes with chickens on them.

-Some people associate a full moon with Halloween.

However, it’s very rare and has only occurred in 1925, 1944, 1955,1974 and 2020. A full Moon occurring on Halloween is not a common occurrence and only happens every 18 to 19 years.

-Halloween was a time for matchmaking?

In the 18th century, some Halloween rituals were meant to help young women find husbands, like throwing apple peels to see a future spouse’s initials.

-Not all pumpkins are orange.

You can find gray, white, green and red pumpkins as well.

Other Fun Halloween Facts

-Rapper, Vanilla Ice was born on October 31. Magician, Harry Houdini died on Halloween.

-Chocolate candies are among the most popular treats to buy to pass out to trick or treaters. Snickers is the first choice, then Skittles, Reese’s, Kit-Kat’s and M&M’s.

-Skittles are the most popular Halloween candy overall.

-“Monster Mash” was a Billboard #1 hit in 1962.

-The Michael Myers mask is really just a modified William Shatner Star Trek mask.

Celebrate on a Halloween Cruise no one does it like Disney Cruise Line but truth be told pretty much every major cruise line offers a Halloween cruise. Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady, Norwegian Cruise Line® Norwegian Prima, Royal Caribbean International® Harmony of the Seas and Carnival Cruise Line Carnival Conquest all offer them. Remember to check out Best Fall Vacation Getaway Ideas with so many options. Fall Foliage Tours & Cruises have such a variety of options from Deluxe like Tauck Tours and Collette Vacations to value Cosmos Tours there is something for everyone’s budget. If you want to travel a little further consider Europe In Autumn Fall Tours & Vacations

If you are looking for Halloween Recipes maybe try out Carnival Cruise Line Recipe for Pumpkin Soup or Celebrity Cruises Pumpkin Pie with Vanilla Chantilly. Carnival Cruise Line Halloween Recipes has everything from cocktails to soups to desserts you should add to your Halloween Menu.

Other Halloween blogs that may interest you:

Scariest Haunted Houses in America

Haunted Hotels: A Room with a Boo

Historic Haunted Hotels You Must See in the U.S.

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