Halloween

Halloween Trivia & Fun Facts

History

 

Halloween originated as the ancient Celtic harvest festival of Samhain (pronounces [Sow-en]) in Ireland and ancient Britain, when the spirits of the dead were thought to revisit their homes, and all kinds of ghosts, goblins, witches and demons were believed to be roaming about. In the 9th century, the Catholic church grafted the Christian onto the pagan when it named Nov. 1st 'All Saints' Day' and Oct. 31st became 'All Hallow's Eve'.

The holiday was introduced to the United States in the last century by Irish immigrants as a largely secular occasion for trick-or-treating and making mischief.

 

Currently a little-known but burgeoning neo-pagan movement exists in this country and in Europe. It is part of the explosion of interest in New Age religion. Consisting mostly of educated professionals, they gather on Halloween and solstices in forests and fields for newly invented rituals which mix ancient celtic customs with nature worship.

Halloween Holiday Trivia

• Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the Fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.
• Jack o’ Lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday.
• Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green. Great for unique monster carvings!
• Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes.
• Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America.
• The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.
• Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States.
• Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters with Snickers #1.
• Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first.
• Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the roman harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.
• Black cats were once believed to be witch's familiars who protected their powers.

If you want to know more things about Halloween click the following links:

• http://www.happyhalloween.at/history.html
• http://topcultured.com/interesting-facts-about-halloween/
• http://facts.randomhistory.com/halloween-facts.html