“Ghosts are hiding in the walls, creeping out when midnight calls”. The spooky season is finally here and there’s nothing more suitable for the occasion than to know some crazy facts about Halloween.
1. The history of holiday goes back more than 2,000 years-
Halloween all started as a pre-Christian Celtic festival called Samhain (which means "summer's end") held around the first of November. It celebrated the final day of the harvest and the crossing of spirits over into the other world. People in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Northern France would ward off ghosts by lighting sacrificial bonfires and wearing costumes.
2. The history of Halloween includes a lot of romance and some Halloween rituals also used to involve finding a husband-
During the 18th century, ladies would follow Halloween traditions that would "help" them find a romantic match. Women would: Throw apple peels, often at midnight, over their shoulder hoping to see their future husband’s initials, competitively bob for apples at parties because the winner would be the first to get married and stand in a dark room with a candle in front of a mirror to look for their future husband’s face. Scottish girls also hung wet sheets in front of the fire on the holiday to see images of their future husband. People used to bake Halloween cakes with a ring and a thimble inside. Get the slice with the ring and you would be married within the year. The thimble? You'd be unlucky in love. Thankfully, those traditions have died out.
3. The custom of decorating with black and orange for Halloween was pretty well thought out-
Orange is seen throughout autumn's changing leaves and is a symbol of strength and endurance, while black is typically the colour of death. The Celtics may have been the first people to use this colour combination to gain strength for the long winter ahead and celebrate the dead during the Samhain holiday.
4. Pumpkin Carving (jack-o'-lanterns) –
a. The Irish brought us jack-o'-lanterns:
As the story goes, an Irish man named Stingy Jack tricked the devil and therefore was not allowed into heaven or hell — so he spent his days roaming the Earth, carrying a lantern, and went by "Jack of the Lantern."
b. Jack-o’-lanterns used to be carved out of turnips, potatoes, and beetroots:
To ward off Stingy Jack and other malicious spirits, the Irish would carve their own jack-o'-lanterns made from turnips, beets, and potatoes. And they're way creepier than the carved pumpkins that are common today, thanks to the turnip’s tougher skin.
c. Records:
The fastest pumpkin carving lasted 16.47 seconds. Stephen Clarke holds the honour. The jack-o'-lantern had to contain a complete face, including eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
According to Guinness World Records, the highest number of lit jack o' lanterns on display is 30,581 by the City of Keene, New Hampshire in 2013. Keene, represented by Let it Shine, has broken the record 8 times over since the original attempt. That's a whole lot of pumpkins!
5. Trick or treating-
a. Skittles are the top Halloween candy:
The bite-sized candies outranked M&M's, Snickers, and Reese's Cups, according to 11 years of sales data from across the globe. And even though candy corn also made the top 10, the tricoloured treats also ranked among the worst Halloween candies.
b. A city in Canada banned teens over 16 from trick-or-treating:
Anyone over the age of 16 caught trick-or-treating — or even just wearing masks — in Bathurst, Canada, faces up to a $200 fine. The city also has a curfew for everyone else, so even those under 16 aren't allowed out after 8 p.m. on Halloween.
6. Some shelters used to suspend black cat adoptions for Halloween-
They feared that the animals were in danger of satanic cults in the days leading up to Halloween. Nowadays, some shelters promote black cat adoptions in October and use interviews to weed out anyone with the wrong intentions.
7. Dressing up in costumes was once a way to hide from ghosts-
The tradition originated as a way for the Celtic and other European people to hide from the spirits who returned at this time of year. People wore masks when they left their homes after dark so the ghosts would think they were fellow spirits. To keep the ghosts out of their houses, people would place bowls of food outside to make them happy.
8. The "bon" in the Halloween "bonfire" is a reference to bones-
During Samhain, priests lit large fires to represent the sun returning after the hard winter. They would throw the bones of cattle into the flames, creating a "bone fire."
9. Is the white house haunted?
The United States' most famous address has had several reports of ghostly appearances and eerie sounds – and that's not even including election years! The most common ghost sighting is of Abraham Lincoln who has been spotted by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Sir Winston Churchill. Other paranormal guests include Andrew Jackson, David Burns and Abigail Adams.
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