Halloween Facts
Halloween is celebrated on 31 October every year, but did you know any of these facts about this haunted holiday?
It is also know as All Hallows Eve, Samhain, All Hallowtide, Mischief Night, The Feast of the Dead and Hallomas.
No-one really knows why Halloween started but most people believe it started in Ireland and was originally a festival to celebrate Harvest. This festival used to be called Samhain.
For Samhain, bonfires were lit as a prayer for the sun to returm after winter. Priests would throw the bones of cows into the fire. They used to call it the ‘bone fire’ which grew into the word bonfire!
Orange and black are thought to be used at Halloween to symbolise autumn and harvest (orange) and darkness and death (black).
Originally, trick or treaters would perform a fun trick, sing or dance for a treat, instead of pulling pranks.
According to tradition, if a person wears his or her clothes inside out and then walks backwards on Halloween, he or she will see a witch at midnight!
Apparently, Welsh and Celtic traditions believed spirits of the dead roamed the streets on 31st October. They wore masks to stop the spirits recognizing them as living people.
In Sandusky, Ohia (USA) it is now illegal for anyone over the age of 14 to go trick or treating! (They made the law in 1995.)
Pumpkins can be green, white, red and gray as well as the usual orange, they come from the same food family as cucumbers!
50,000 people take part in the Halloween parade in New York City, with around 2 million people coming to watch!
In Hollywood, California, it is illegal to have, sell, use or give out silly string over Halloween.
