Friday, October 16, 2009

13 Fascinating Facts about Halloween


1.) Halloween is always celebrated on October 31st.

2.) Halloween is one of the oldest celebrations in the world, dating back over 2000 years to the time of the Celts who lived in Britain.

3.) Halloween is correctly spelt as Hallowe'en.

4.) When Christianity came to England and the rest of Europe, November 1st became All Saints Day and the night before became known as All Hallows Eve and eventually Halloween.

5.) It is thought that the colours orange and black became Halloween colors, because orange is associated with harvest and black is associated with death.

6.) Black cats were orginally believed to protect witches' powers from negative forces.

7.) A pumpkin is really a squash, and comes from the same family as the cucumber.

8.) The biggest pumpkin in the world tipped the scales at a whopping 1,446 pounds. It was weighed October 2004 at a festival in Canada.

9.) The very first jack o'lantern was made out of hollowed out turnips.

10.) If you see a spider on this night, it could be the spirit of a dead loved one who is watching you.

11.) To meet a witch, put your clothes on inside out and walk backwards on Halloween night.

12.) About 99% of pumpkins sold are used for Jack O'Lanterns at Halloween.

13.) The record for the fastest pumpkin carver in the world is Jerry Ayers of Baltimore, Ohio. He carved a pumpkin in just 37 seconds.

Just some fun facts to know, I am sure there are many more. Have a very nice Halloween, be safe and please when driving watch out for all the little gobblins out there trick and treating.

14 comments:

magnoliasntea said...

Thanks for the tip about meetin' a witch. I'll be keeping my clothes on right side out and walkin' straight ahead. That gave me the creeps..lol.
Lookin' forward to Thanksgiving. :)

GARAGE SALE GAL said...

That was fun to learn about Hallowe'en :)
I wonder when trick or treating started?
Have a great weekend.
Warmly,
Deb :)

Anonymous said...

Oh Margaret, what a fun post. I hope I see lots of spiders on Halloween night. xo P.S. I got my pumpkins at K-Mart. :)

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

What a great list of little known facts.

The person who had the patience to carve anything out of a turnip ought to be named Job. I can barely cut a turnip into quarters to cook it, much less carve it into something recognizable.

Love these facts - thank you for posting them.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Thanks for all those facts about Halloween.....I did not know quite a few of them.
I am an awe at the person who carved a pumpkin in 37 secobds!! My My My---That is fast!

Linda said...

Fun, fun, 'Halloween night when the witches run' (the later from a little Halloween song I learned in the 3rd grade).

Thanks for the interesting facts as always :)

Merle said...

Dear Margaret ~~ We don't celebrate Halloween in
Australia very much at all. It can be a bit scary by all accounts. With the toilet papering of the houses etc.
Thanks for your comments and I am glad you enjoyed The New Alphabet, and the chocolate one. I have had a nice weekend so far. My friend, Lorraine took me to Bunnings to get some tomato plants and then proceed to plant them for me. She is so kind and helpful, and made my day. Take care my friend and be safe.
Love, Merle.

Patty said...

Thanks for the information. Very interesting. This year they will actually be doing Trick or Treating on Sat. evening from 6pm to 7:30pm.

Our time doesn't change until Nov. 1st. So it's going to get dark pretty early, especially if it's rainy. I suppose this year I will hand out treats. This one section of the street are mostly retired people, and they don't do the treats, so the last time I sit out there, I set at the end of our driveway with a lite pumpkin and about froze to death. Most didn't even bother to walk down this way for one person handing out treats. Saved the little ones from coming up to ring the door bell.

Also this year, since Abe just had the front landscaped, it will keep them from running through the peat moss.

As for the time change, I wish they would leave it well enough alone, when it's changed in the fall, LEAVE it that way. I have way too many clocks I have to changed and adjust, plus it takes my body a couple of weeks to get adjusted. They say it's for farmers to be able to work longer in the fields, shoot, most tractors and other equipment come with head lights and a lot of farmers don't work in their fields past 9pm anyway. I think it's for the golfers to play longer. LOL

Judy said...

Some really interesting facts about Halloween. I enjoyed this post. I certainly will keep my clothes on correctly as I don't want to meet up with any witches, good or bad ones!

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Very interesting post Margaret as always, It's like having an education reading your post, one knows one is in for a treat.

Yvonne.

A New Beginning said...

eeee thats scary, can we actually meet a witch by doing that..Ill watch my steps for sure, dont wana collide into witches :(
Thanks for the funfilled facts about halloween, they were really interesting!!!

Merle said...

Hi again Margaret ~~ Just a quick note to tell you I left an award for you on my blog. I hope you enjoy it. Love, Merle.

Becky said...

Cool facts Margaret. Some of these I haven't heard.No meeting any witches for me. LOL
B.

Merle said...

Dear Margaret ~~ I am glad you are pleased with the award. Glad you liked the stories. The deer was lucky to get rescued.
I like stories with happy endings.
I hope your week is going well. Be safe my friend
Love, Merle.

Post a Comment