2. The Origin of Halloween The origins of Halloween date back 2,000 years to an ancient festival of Samhain; The Celts who lived in Northwestern Europe, celebrated their new year on November 01; The festival marked the end of summer and the beginning of the cold, dark winter… at time often marked by death; During Samhain it was said that the dead could return to the Earth; People wore costumes to protect their identities from the spirits that returned…
3. Fun Fact: Americans spend an estimated $6.9 billion on Halloween, making it the second largest commercial holiday.
4. The Origin of Halloween The Celts would light huge fires where they would sacrifice animals and burn crops for the spirits; The next day, all that was left were ash and bones… “bone” fires, or bonfires; They would make the sacrifices to Samana, their Lord of the Dead… Samana used to carry a sickle, our…
5. The Origin of Halloween As the influence of Christianity spread into Celtic lands, the Pope created All Saints Day, to replace Samhain; The night before All Saints Day was known as All Hallows Eve…
6. The Origin of Halloween Trick-or-treating takes place in early Europe; Poor people would go around asking for handouts, and in return they would pray for the givers family; Later the practice will be picked up by children who will go door-to-door and receive treats; Parents were encourages by their communities to take anything grotesque about death or religion out of the Halloween celebration…
7. Fun Fact: A cup of candy corn has fewer calories than a cup of raisins.
8. Jack O’ Lantern Before you can understand why we carve Jack O’ Lanterns, you need to hear the story of Jack... The Irish used turnips as their “Jack’s Lanterns”, until they come to the US and find that pumpkins are more plentiful and efficient…
10. Dracula His real name was Vladimir Dracul; It was believed that he had an allergy to blood and when exposed to it would go crazy; More to the story…
11. Fun Fact: On Halloween, if an unmarried girl carries a broken egg in a glass and takes it to spring she can see a glimpse of her future husband, and if she puts spring water in the glass, she can also see her children.
12. Bobbing for Apples Bobbing for apples has its root when the apple symbolized love and fertility; The first person in the group that bobs and apple will be the first to marry; A woman could also stand looking into a mirror in a darkened room with a candle and look over her shoulder to see the face of her future husband…
13. Fun Fact: On 19 February, 2008, New Yorker, Ashrita Furman, bobbed 33 apples in one minute to establish a world record.
14. Black Cats Staying away from the path of a black cat dates back to the Middle Ages; It was believed that witches, to avoid detection, would turn themselves into black cats; Just as walking under a ladder is bad luck, this most likely comes from the Egyptian tradition that the triangle was sacred…
15. Halloween by the Numbers 36.1 million 111.4 million 1.1 billion pounds 1,233 23.8 pounds Source: US Census Bureau Some places to spend Halloween: Transylvania County, NC Tombstone, AZ Pumpkin Center, NC Cape Fear, NC Skull Creek, NE
Editor's Notes
36.1 million: number of estimated trick-or-treaters this year111.4 million: number of occupied housing units in the US, where you can drop by for candy1.1 billion pounds: pounds of pumpkin that was produced this year for Halloween1,233: number of candy factories in the US23.8 pounds: per capita candy consumption of a US household per yearSource: US Census Bureau
