Fun Facts About Halloween

31/10/2017

5 Fun Facts About Halloween!

To celebrate Halloween, we have compiled a few fun facts about this frightful tradition…

Halloween Was A Celtic Festival

Halloween is said to have originated from a Celtic festival of the dead known as ‘Samhain.’  Celts believed that the ghosts of the dead walked the earth on this day, and would disguise themselves as demons and ghouls to escape being noticed by real spirits wandering the world.

Trick-Or-Treat

Apparently, trick or treating started as something called ‘guysing’ in which participants would go door-to-door and perform songs, poems and even plays in exchange for food.

Original Halloween Costumes

According to ancient Roman records, tribes of people would wear animal skulls and skins in order to connect with the dead.  Luckily for us, Halloween costumes have somewhat improved over the years!

Why Pumpkins?

The term ‘Jack O’Lantern’ comes from a myth about a rather shady man names Stingy Jack, who, tricked the Devil into never claiming his soul.  Unfortunately, when Jack died, he wasn’t permitted to enter through the pearly gates, nor was he destined for an afterlife or fire and brimstone.  Instead, his soul was forced to walk the Earth with only a light that he carried around in a turnip.  This is where the tradition of carving pumpkins allegdly comes from – to ward off evil spirits like Jack.

Spend, Spend, Spend

Recent figures show that us Brits will spend more than £25 million on pumpkins this year!