Interesting Halloween Facts

Interesting Halloween Facts Halloween is one of the most exciting holidays celebrated by both adults and children on October 31st every year. Its a time when miracles are possible and all disbelief is suspended. Its a day for celebration, for magic, for funny tricks, for scary stories and for family. Here are some  Halloween fascinating facts  which might be new for you. Educate yourself with  Halloween trivia facts  to get pleasure from the holidays much more. The origins of Halloween Halloween is one of the oldest holidays in the world, its origins are dating back over 2000 years to the time of the Celts who lived in Britain.  Celts celebrated Halloween on October 31st which was the last day of the Celtic calender. The Halloween custom originated in the ancient times from Celts belief that the border between this world and the Otherworld becomes thin on All Hallows Eve. People wore masks and costumes to protect themselves from evil spirits. The word Halloween means All Hallows Eve which was originally a pagan holiday in which they honored the dead. Halloween is also known by other names: Samhain, All Hallowtide, The Feast of the Dead, The Day of the Dead. In the United States the celebration of Halloween started as an autumn harvest festival and was observed with corn-popping parties, taffy pulls and hayrides. In the late 19th century, with the large influx of immigrants from Ireland, Halloween became associated with witches, ghosts and goblins. The word “witch” comes from the Old Saxon word “wica” and means “wise one.” Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the Fall harvest and black is associated with death. Facts about Halloween Pumpkins The tradition of carving Jack o’ Lanterns started in Ireland where people carved lanterns from a swede or a turnip and left on the door step to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday. Jack o lanterns got their name from the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs. The pumpkin is one of America’s oldest known vegetables. It is originated in Central America about 9,000 years ago. A pumpkin is really a squash fruit, and comes from the same family as the cucumber, gherkins and melons. The name pumpkin originates from the Greek word pepon, which means a large melon. The majority of pumpkins are orange, but they also can be white, gray, yellow, red, blue and green. Pumpkins consist of 90% water. They are rich in potassium, vitamin A and beta-carotene, and their seeds contain protein and iron. Pumpkins usually weigh from 15-to-30 pounds, although sometimes their weigh may exceed 200 pounds. Today the record for the worlds heaviest pumpkin is held by Chris Stevens (Wisconsin, USA) whose pumpkin weighed 1,810.5 lbs. (Guinness World Records). Illinois farms more pumpkins than any other state in the country. Recent facts about Halloween Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday after Christmas. About $2 billion dollars is spent each year on Halloween candy in the U.S. and this accounts for 25% of the years candy sales. The most popular Halloween candy is Candy corn. It was designed by the U.S Wunderlee Candy company in the 1880s. The most popular Halloween candy bar is Snickers. It was created in 1930 by the Mars family and was named after their family horse. More than 93% of children and 80% of adults go trick or treating on Halloween each year. The mass production of Halloween costumes started in the U.S. in the 1930s. Originally these costumes were copied from scary characters, such as skeletons, vampires, ghosts and witches. Nowadays they are often inspired by television, science fiction, cartoons, cinema and pop culture. The most popular Halloween costumes for adults are: witch, pirate, vampire, cat and clown. A majority of people (about 48%) believe in ghosts.  The vampire societies and clubs with people claiming to be real vampires exist to this day. The fear of ghosts is called Phasmophobia. The fear of Halloween is called Samhainophobia. The United States largest Halloween celebration takes place in New York City. It is known as The Village Halloween Parade and attracts over two million spectators and participants. There are real vampire bats which live in Central and South America and feed on the blood of cattle and birds. October 31, 2020 will be the next full moon on Halloween night.