Really? Weird Facts about Halloween You Should Know
Posted by SwordsSwords on Oct 2nd 2019
Contrary to popular belief, Halloween did not originate in a candy factory to sell Americans sugary treats. Then where did it originate? What is the real history? Stick with this list to find out!
- Halloween originated in 4000 B.C.
- It originated in Ireland as the Celt festival Samhain. The fear of Halloween is thus known as Samhainophobia.
- Halloween was actually a day of love in Ireland. People predicted their true love and marriage through fortune-telling games like apple bobbing.
- Trick or treating was also an old Celt tradition. But while we use it to appease little kids, they used it to appease ghosts and spirits. People also used to knock on doors asking for treats to placate their dead relatives’ spirits.
- People used to dance or sing songs for their treats.
- The earlier costumes were made of animal skulls and bones!
- It is believed the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is thin on Hallows’ eve. It is also possible to interact with those in the other world.
- People used turnips, beets, and potatoes to carve Jack-o-Lanterns- not pumpkins.
- Jack-o-Lanterns presumedly originated after a miserly man named Jack. He played so many tricks on the devil in his life that he was denied entry to both heaven and hell upon his death. He then used his lanterns to play tricks on people of earth after his death.
- Want to see a witch this Halloween? Legend says, wear your clothes inside out and walk backward. You’ll see a witch at midnight.
- Speaking of witches, it was once a common belief that owls were witches. Their hoots supposedly prophesized death.
- Legends also say that if you see a spider on Halloween, it is actually a loved one’s spirit keeping watch over you.
- Original treats for the trick-or-treat crowds were fruits and nuts instead of candy.
- Research shows that more than 50% of the kids prefer chocolate candy more than any other treat. Research also shows that over 90% of the parents steal some of their kids’ Halloween candy!
- The correct spelling of Halloween is actually Hallowe’en. Yes! We got it wrong as well!