20 Facts About Halloween You Might Not Know
Do you love Halloween? Then you’re going to love learning some fun facts about the holiday! Read on to learn 20 things you probably didn’t know about Halloween. From its origins to its modern-day celebrations, this post has everything you need to impress your friends with your Halloween knowledge!
20 things you probably didn’t know about Halloween
1. The word “Halloween” comes from the Old English words “halga” and “wehn,” which mean “holy evening” or “hallowed evening.”
2. Halloween is also known as All Hallows’ Eve and is observed on October 31st.
3. It is believed that Halloween has its roots in an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain.
4. Celts believed that on the night of Samhain, the boundary between this world and the Otherworld – the world of ghosts and spirits – became blurred.
5. They believed that the spirits of the dead could return to earth on this night and that it was a time when supernatural beings, such as fairies, could also be active.
6. The Celts would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off evil spirits.
7. Jack-o’-lanterns originated in Ireland. People would carve turnips or potatoes and place candles inside them to ward off evil spirits.
8. In the ninth century, Pope Gregory IV moved the date of All Saints’ Day from May 13th to November 1st. This likely had an impact on the celebration of Halloween.
9. Christianity has influenced Halloween in other ways as well. For example, the tradition of “trick-or-treating” is thought to have originated with a practice called “souling.” Poor people would go door to door on All Saints’ Day, begging for soul cakes in exchange for praying for the dead.
10. Halloween was brought to North America by Irish immigrants. The first recorded mention of Halloween in North America is from a diary entry from 1663.
11. In 1845, the Great Potato Famine hit Ireland and many Irish people emigrated to North America in search of a better life. This likely helped to spread the celebration of Halloween to even more parts of the world.
12. Trick-or-treating became popular in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s.
13. “Halloween” was first used as a noun in the 1590s and as a verb in the 1630s.
14. “Trick or treat” first appeared in print in 1927.
15. The tradition of carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns is thought to have originated with Scottish immigrants in the United States.
16. Black cats are often associated with Halloween and are sometimes considered to be bad luck. In medieval Europe, black cats were believed to be witches’ familiars – supernatural creatures that assisted witches in their work.
17. bats are also often associated with Halloween. This may be because they are nocturnal animals and are therefore active at night, when Halloween takes place.
18. The colors orange and black are often associated with Halloween. Orange is the color of pumpkins and autumn leaves, while black is the color of night.
19. Halloween is the second-most commercial holiday in the United States, after Christmas.
20. According to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, Americans are expected to spend $8 billion on Halloween this year.
Whether you’re a Halloween lover or not, we hope you learned something new about the holiday. We had a blast putting this post together and can’t wait to see all of the amazing costumes out there this year. What are your favorite things about Halloween? Let us know in the comments! And don’t forget to share this post with your friends so they can learn some fun facts, too. Happy Halloween!
