Halloween Fun Facts and Interesting Information

Are you looking for some Halloween fun facts and information?

Halloween used to be a holiday for kids to dress up in costumes and go around from house to house collecting candy, which they would then consume in a matter of hours, not days, and bounce off the walls for weeks afterward, all the way up until Christmas.

Now, it's a holiday that is shared and enjoyed by children and adults alike. Here are some Halloween fun facts that everyone can enjoy.

1. The first Jack O'lanterns were carved from turnips, not pumpkins. Imagine trying to create a Halloween scene on a turnip today. That's a great Halloween fun fact!
   
   
2. The first time that trick or treating is mentioned in print occurred in 1927.
   
   
3. Halloween, translated, means All Saints Day.
   
   
4. Orange and black, two colors typically associated with Halloween, have significant meaning that dates back many years. Orange is generally the color associated with harvest time, which generally falls just before Halloween. Black represents death and darkness and symbolizes that Halloween was once a festival that celebrated the boundaries between life and death.
   
   
5. The birthplace of Halloween was Ireland.
   
   
6. Scarecrows, often associated with Halloween, are symbols of the original connection the holiday had to harvest time.
   
   
7. In Mexico, citizens celebrate the Day of the Dead and dress up as ghouls and parade through the street.
   
   
8. It is argued that Halloween was actually first practiced in 4,000 B.C.E. That means that the holiday is more than 6,000 years old.
   
   
9. In 1974, a young boy was poisoned with cyanide when he ate Halloween candy. This put a damper on the holiday tradition and led to many parents keeping their kids home the following year. It was discovered, however, that the boy's father had taken out life insurance policies on his children and was the one who poisoned his son.
   
   
10. Boston, Massachusetts holds the record for the most Jack O'Lanterns lit at one time. 30,128. Now that's a Halloween fun fact!
    
    
11. In many countries around the world, Halloween is viewed today as an unwanted commercialized American holiday and is not celebrated.
    
    
12. According to legend, Jack O'Lanterns are named for a miserly man named Jack who had tricked the devil on several occasions. He was then banished from both heaven and hell and forced to wander the Earth for eternity. As a result, he carries only his lantern with him, which he used to try to lure people off their chosen path.
    
    
13. The largest pumpkin ever measured weighed 836 pounds. It was grown by Norm Craven in 1993.

These are just some of the many Halloween fun facts that you can find about this exciting holiday. Unfortunately, there are far too many people around the world who don't celebrate the holiday because of the very commercial nature that it has become.

If one thinks about the commercialization of holidays as being a reason not to enjoy it, then Christmas could become a thing of the past for these people as well. Halloween fun facts simply shine a light on what the holiday has to offer people.

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