13 Unlucky Facts about Halloween

Halloween is almost here and as one of the most popular holidays (it ranks above New Year’s and Valentine’s Day), it seems only fitting that we have a little chat about some of the fun facts that you may not know about Halloween, but help to make it what it is.

I know I was completely thrown off by some of the things I have learned about Halloween when I researched this topic, but I found it totally interesting.

Halloween Facts

Curious yet? Here are 10 fun facts about Halloween that I bet you didn’t know.

Unusual Halloween Treats

Here are some unusual Halloween treats that people eat in different parts of the world.

Raisin Bread	Ireland
Toffee	Great Britain
Peanuts in the shells	Scotland
Soul Cakes (bread-like)	Portugal
Roasted Sweet Corn	Mexico
Colcannon (mashed potatoes and cabbage)	Ireland

No thanks! I’ll stick to my tradition of picking out all the Reese’s Peanut Butter cups from my kids’ bags!

Unlucky Facts about Halloween

Why did I call them unlucky? Well, they’re certainly not good luck. Plus it was just fun to use the number 13.

1. Halloween is more popular than Valentine’s Day and New Years. Both the holiday of love and the party-throwing New Year’s holidays fall behind Halloween in popularity with children and adults alike.
2. Major money is spent on Halloween. Did you know that Americans spend almost 10 billion dollars per year on Halloween? That’s BILLION with a B. That is a lot of money to be spent on candy and costumes. Each consumer typically spends about $80 dollars per year on their Halloween goodies.
3. Historically, the owl has been one of the most popular Halloween images. This is because, during medieval times in Europe, owls were seen as witches. It was said that hearing an owl’s call was a sign that someone was about to die.
4. The idea of trick or treating came from a Celtic tradition originating in ancient times. The ancient Celts would put treats on their doorsteps and in the streets to provide offerings to the spirits of Samhain.
5. Houdini died on Halloween. In a strange twist of events, Harry Houdini, who is considered by many to be the most famous magician of all time, died on Halloween. His death was caused by appendicitis, which was brought on by 3 blows to the stomach he took during one of his acts.
6. The candy-drugging was a myth. In 1974 a young boy ate a piece of heroin laced candy which led to a mass fear of drug-laced candy being passed out during Halloween. As it turns out, that young boy had gotten into his uncle’s drugs and it was never meant for the Halloween candy. Knowing the facts of this story could have prevented many urban legends that still exist to this day.
7. Halloween is old, like really old. It is believed that Halloween traditions began in the year 4,000 B.C., which means that humans have been celebrating Halloween for over 6,000 years.
8. Boston knows how to light their jack-o-lanterns! Boston holds the unique record of having the most Jack O’Lanterns lit at once (over 30,000).
9. Legend has it, Jack O’Lanterns get their name from an old Irish story of a man named Jack who liked to trick the devil and because of his tricky ways, was barred from entering both heaven and hell, instead, he was forced to wander the earth, where he used his lanterns to wave people away from their intended paths.
10. Halloween colors are what they are for a reason. There are several colors that you almost always see used in relation to Halloween (orange, black, brown and gold)  Here’s why these colors are the chosen ones:
11. Orange – Orange is known as a symbol of strength.
12. Black – Black is known as a symbol of death.
13. Brown and Gold – These colors are typically in the symbolism of harvest.

Halloween is so much fun and knowing these quirky little fun facts about this holiday might help give you some icebreakers for those Halloween parties that you plan to attend.

Do you have any crazy, fun facts about Halloween? We would love to have more interesting tidbits to add to our list!