It is Halloweek, with a lot of people’s favorite spooky holiday drawing near. Here are a few facts about Halloween you may have not known!
- Halloween dates back to Celtic times over 2,000 years ago!
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The holiday itself, according to History.com, comes from a festival called Samhain (November 1st) from Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Northern France. Since November 1st marked a new year and the beginning of a dark, cold winter, the Celts believed that spirits roamed free the night before (October 31st). Back then, people celebrated by lighting bonfires to burn sacrifices, during which people usually wore costumes and told each other’s fortunes.
- So how did this holiday become popular in the United States? Immigration!
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The influx of Irish immigrants to the US in the 1800’s introduced the Celtic Halloween traditions. These traditions included dressing up in costumes, pulling pranks, and asking neighbors for food and money. At first, these pranks could be pretty outrageous, and it wasn’t until the 1920’s that people started to realize the pranks were becoming costly and disruptive in big cities. Because of this, cities started organizing more family friendly Halloween celebrations.
- Halloween is the second most celebrated holiday in the U.S.
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This may come as a surprise (it definitely surprised me), but Halloween is the second most celebrated holiday behind Christmas! According to the National Retail Federation shopping trends this year, 68% plan on celebrating Halloween this year in a variety of ways. The top way to celebrate is by handing out candy, with decorating one’s home and dressing up in a costume close behind. In sum, the amount spent by Americans on Halloween shopping is expected to reach a whopping $8.8 billion! Wowza!
- Before carving pumpkins, people used turnips, potatoes, and beets
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I personally can’t imagine Halloween without our jack-‘o-lanterns! However, before Halloween was introduced to the US, people used other vegetables to carve! So, if we ever have a pumpkin shortage, don’t fear…
just improvise! - How fast can you carve a pumpkin?
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The world record for the fastest pumpkin carving, which had to include a complete face (eyes, nose, and mouth) was completed by Stephen Clarke in 2013 – his record is 16.47 seconds! Beat that!
- Still trying to come up with your costume idea? Here is a list of the most popular 2019 Halloween costumes:
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According to Google Analytics, this is a list of the most popular 2019 costumes, in case you’re still looking for some Halloween costume inspiration!
1. IT
2. Witch
3. Spider-Man
4. Dinosaur
5. Descendants
6. Clown
7.
Fortnite 8.
Chucky 9. 1980s
10. Unicorn
If you’re scared of clowns, be prepared to see a lot of IT costumes, as this costume seems to be holding a strong number one spot for this year!
- Twix holds the number one spot for Halloween candy in Colorado, summing up to 123,646 pounds… that’s a lot of Twix!
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Candystore.com has a neat little map that displays the top Halloween candy state-by-state. In Colorado, Twix holds number one, with Hershey Kisses and Milky Way, holding the number two and number three spots, respectively. In the US, overall, Skittles holds the number one spot!
Well, there you have it. This Halloween, be sure to get your spooky on, stay safe, and have a Happy Halloween!
This article was inspired by Good Housekeeping’s list of 25 Halloween Facts. Check it out if you’re looking for more spooky and fun facts about Halloween!