Halloween Facts and Trivia

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Boston, Massachusetts holds the record for the most Jack O'Lanterns lit at once (30,128).





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The Village Halloween Parade in New York City is the largest Halloween parade in the United States. The parade includes 50,000 participants and draws over 2 million spectators.





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Ireland is believed to be the birthplace of Halloween. It was originally a Celtic festival called Samhain which celebrated the harvest.





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Magician Harry Houdini died on Halloween.





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Thousands of people suffer from Samhainophobia whis is an irrational fear of Halloween.





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Barmbrack used to be a traditional food eaten on Halloween. The bread contained various objects baked into it and was used as a sort of fortune telling game.





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Many shelters don't allow black cats to be adopted around Halloween for fear that they may be tortured or sacrificed.





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The first known mention of trick or treating in print in North America occurred in 1927 in Blackie, Alberta Canada.





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More candy is sold on October 28th than any other day of the year. The top 5 candy selling days of the year are all in October.





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The word witch comes from the Old English wicce meaning wise woman. In fact wiccan were highly respected people at one time. According to popular belief, witches held one of their two main meetings or sabbats on Halloween night.





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During the pre-halloween celebration of the Samhain, bonfires were lit to ensure the sun would return after the long hard winter. Often Druid priests would throw the bones of cattle into the flames and hence bone fire became bonfire.





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Black and orange are typically associated with Halloween. Orange is a symbol of strength and endurance and along with brown and gold, stands for the harvest and autumn. Black is typically a symbol of death and darkness and acts as a reminder that Halloween once was a festival that marked the boundaries between life and death.





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According to legend, if you see a spider on Halloween, it's actually the spirit of a loved one watching over you.





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It's actually very rare for a full moon to occur on Halloween. It also happened in 1925, 1944, 1955 and 1974.