Although some may not consider Halloween to be a holiday, I personally LOVE Halloween and it’s my second favorite holiday (Thanksgiving being the first). Halloween is a time for candy, costumes, and the Charlie Brown cartoon special, but how did it become this way? Why are children and teens encouraged to run around the neighborhood threatening tricks and asking for treats? You may already think that Halloween is a pretty bizarre holiday: What other celebration could inspire both a sexy vampire costume and cute little costume inspired by a cartoon character? Chances are you really have no idea just how weird Halloween truly is, so here are some facts to fix that...
1. Halloween is the second most commercial holiday of the year
The candy industry rakes in an average of $2 billion worth of candy each year. Americans spend an estimated $6 billion on Halloween annually, including candy, costumes, and decorations, according to History.com. In the United State, Christmas is obviously the most commercialized holiday of the year.
2. A full moon on Halloween is extremely rare
The most recent full moon was in 2001 and, before that it was 1955. It is predicted that the next full moon on Halloween won’t happen until the year 2020.
3. The first known mention of trick-or-treating in print in North America occurred in 1927 in Blackie, Alberta, Canada
The earliest known reference to ritual begging on Halloween in English speaking North America occurred in 1911, when a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario reported that it was normal for the smaller children to go street “guising” on Halloween between 6:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M., visiting shops, and neighbors to be rewarded with nuts and candies for their rhymes and songs. The earliest known use in print of the term “trick or treat” appears in 1927, from Blackie, Alberta, Canada.
4. The colors black and orange are typically associated with Halloween
Orange is a symbol of strength and endurance and, along with brown and gold, stands for the harvest and autumn. Black typically is a symbol of death and darkness and acts as a reminder that Halloween was once a festival that marked the boundaries between life and death.
5. Scottish girls believed they could see images of their future husband if they hung wet sheets in front of the fire on Halloween
Other girls believed they would see their boyfriends faces if they looked into mirrors while walking downstairs at midnight on Halloween.
6. Mexico celebrates Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) instead of Halloween
Day of the Dead is celebrated on the Christian holidays All Saints Day (November 1st) and All Souls Day (November 2nd) instead of Halloween. The townspeople dress up like ghouls and parade down the street.
7. Halloween is actually very old
Halloween is thought to have originated around 4000 B.C., which means Halloween has been around for over 6,000 years.
8. The Village Halloween parade in New York City is the largest Halloween parade in the United States
The parade includes 50,000 participants and draws over 2 million spectators.
9. Salem, Massachusetts is the self-proclaimed Halloween capital of the world
Salem, MA remains second-to-none when it comes to Halloween. It’s the home of the Salem Witch Trials that sparked a phenomenon that is still explored in schools across the Northeast. The town also embraces the past no matter how true or false the stories of witchcraft may be.
10. Children are more than twice as likely to be killed in a pedestrian/car accident on Halloween than on any other night
PLEASE BE SAFE OUT THERE!!!!
11. Many shelters don't allow black cats to be adopted around Halloween for fear that they may be tortured or sacrificed
The dark-haired felines have been associated with witchcraft since the Middle Ages in Europe, and the people who run the shelters are concerned that the supernatural underpinnings to Halloween will bring in people with bad intentions for the types of cats most closely associated with the occult.
12. The tradition of adding pranks into the Halloween mix started to turn ugly in the 1930's
A movement began to substitute practical jokes for kids going door to door collecting candy.
13. Halloween is the third biggest party day of the year behind New Year's Eve and Super Bowl Sunday
This one makes a lot of sense, if you think about it. Halloween is not thought of as a religious holiday by most. It's also celebrated over ninety percent of kids. Over sixty percent of adults participate in Halloween activities.
14. In 1950, Philadelphia-based trick-or-treaters traded in a sweet tooth for a sweet action
In lieu of candy, residents collected change for children overseas and sent it to UNICEF. Subsequently, the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program was born.
15. Vampire bats are real
There really are so-called vampire bats, but they're not from Transylvania. They live in Central and South America and feed on the blood of cattle, horses, and birds.
16. Jack o’lanterns were originally made from turnips
When Irish immigrants took the idea of the jack o'lantern to America, they started using pumpkins, because they were cheaper than turnips.