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Teaching facts about Halloween is a fun way to let kids learn about the origin and traditions of this holiday. Celebrated every year on October 31, Halloween traces its roots to an ancient Celtic festival where people would dress up in elaborate costumes to ward off ghosts. Over the years, it evolved into a fun spooky holiday for children to go trick or treating and pumpkin carving. In this blog, you will read more interesting facts about Halloween and how it all began.
Table of Contents
Interesting Facts About Halloween History
1. Halloween may have developed from the pre-Christian holiday Samhain, celebrated in early medieval Ireland.
2. Some people believe that it originated from the Christian feasts of the dead, observed in the Middle Ages.
3. By the 9th century, October 31 was being widely celebrated as All Hallow’s Eve.
Unknown Facts About Halloween
1. Halloween is observed on October 31.
2. It is also known as All Hallows’ Eve.
3. This holiday marks the day before the Western Christian feast of All Saints, or All Hallows.
4. In much of Europe and North America, the celebration of Halloween is nonreligious.
5. Halloween is celebrated with fun parties, spooky costumes, pumpkin carving, and trick-or-treat.
6. The celebration of Halloween marks the beginning of Allhallotide, a three-day Christian period of prayers. It is dedicated to remembering and honouring the dead.
7. Facts about Halloween in Mexico include that the holiday is often overshadowed by the Day of the Dead.
8. In 2003, UNESCO declared Mexico’s Day of the Dead, or Dia de Los, a masterpiece of humanity’s oral and immaterial heritage.
9. It is believed that phantoms walked the earth on the night of Samhain. Therefore, people would dress up in costumes to repel the spirits. This may have originated the practice of dressing up during Halloween.
10. In 2013, the City of Keene, New Hampshire made the Guinness World Record to light the highest number of jack-o’-lanterns on display with a whopping 30,581.
11. According to The State, a newspaper published in Columbia, a city in Horry County called Conway renamed itself as the city of Halloween for the month of October.
12. Estimates suggest that one in five adults pretend to not be at home on Halloween.
13. The black and orange colours, associated with Halloween, are traced back to the Celtic festival of Samhain. Black represents the death of summer whereas orange represents the life of the fall harvest.
14. The next fact about Halloween is that you can see a full moon on Halloween once every 19 years.
15. Halloween might be the second-largest commercial holiday.
16. The folklore behind carving pumpkins on Halloween is that Stingy Jack, an Irish man, tricked the devil and was not allowed to enter heaven or hell. He spent his days roaming the Earth carrying a lantern, hence the name Jack of the Lantern.
17. Once Halloween became popular in America, people used local produce such as pumpkins whereas people in Ireland used turnips, potatoes, and beetroots instead.
Fun Facts About Halloween Candy
1. Halloween’s popular candy corn was originally called Chicken Feed with the packaging marked with a colourful rooster.
2. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are among the most popular selling candies for Halloween.
3. Mars produced Fun Size candy bars in the 1960s and they quickly became a popular Halloween treat.
4. The two M’s in M&Ms stand for Mars and Murrie, the surname of Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie who developed these chocolates.
5. Saltwater taffy does not taste salty or watery or saltwater-y in any way.
6. Another fact about Halloween candy is that the Mike and Ike candy debuted in 1940. Orange, cherry, lemon, and lime are the original flavours.
7. Despite the name Licorice Candy, only the black liquorice packages contain liquorice extract.
8. North Dakota banned candy cigarettes between 1953 and 1967 due to concerns that it would encourage kids to smoke real cigarettes.
9. DOTS gumdrops are gluten-free and vegan.
10. Franklin Mars, the founder of Mars company, named SNICKERS after a beloved racehorse.
Quick Read – 11+ Scary Halloween Idioms and Phrases
FAQs
It is believed that the English word ‘Halloween’ comes from “All Hallows’ Eve”. it is the evening before the Christian holy days of All Hallows’ Day (All Saints’ Day) on 1 November and All Souls’ Day on 2 November.
Some interesting facts about Halloween are that it might have originated from the pre-Christian holiday Samhain, by the 9th century, October 31 was being celebrated as All Hallow’s Eve, and lastly, it marks the day before the Western Christian feast of All Saints, or All Hallows.
Interestingly, the origin of Halloween can be traced back to the ancient Celtic festival, Samhain. It included people dressing up in costumes and lighting bonfires to ward off spirits.
Interesting Reads
Hope you had fun reading interesting facts about Halloween. If you want to know more about topics like this, then visit our Interesting Facts and General Knowledge page!