Fasinating Facts About Halloween

Thursday thirteen - 22nd Edition

I know that I'm publishing my TT a little early this week. I won't be near a computer tonight. So I thought I'd better post it before I forget. Happy Thursday Thirteen to all!!




1. Halloween is the one of the oldest holidays still celebrated today.

2. It's one of the most popular holidays, second only to Christmas.

3. While millions of people celebrate Halloween without knowing it's origins and myths, the history and facts of Halloween make the holiday more fascinating.

4. Halloween is on October 31st, the last day of the Celtic calendar. It was originally a pagan holiday, honoring the dead

5. Halloween was referred to as All Hallows Eve and dates back to over 2000 years ago.

6. All Hallows Eve is the evening before All Saints Day, which was created by Christians to convert pagans, and is celebrated on November 1st. The Catholic church honored saints on this designated day.

7. Different cultures view Halloween somewhat differently but traditional Halloween practices remain the same.

8. Halloween culture can be traced back to the Druids, a Celtic culture in Ireland, Britain and Northern Europe.

9. The roots of Halloween lay in the feast of Samhain, which was annually on October 31st to honor the dead.

10. Samhain signifies "summers end" or November. Samhain was a harvest festival with huge sacred bonfires, marking the end of the Celtic year and beginning of a new one. Many of the practices involved in this celebration were fed on superstition.

11. The Celts believed the souls of the dead roamed the streets and villages at night.

12. Since not all spirits were thought to be friendly, gifts and treats were left out to pacify the evil and ensure next years crops would be plentiful. This custom evolved into trick-or-treating.

13. While not an official holiday, the traditional October 31 Halloween celebration is much beloved by children in the United States, for whom the day is a chance to wear costumes—often depicting ghosts, goblins and other "supernatural" creatures—and to collect candy and other treats from adults. Most Americans consider Halloween a festive occasion, but its roots long predate the United States and its meaning has changed greatly over time. Even today, many other nations observe their own versions of this long-observed festival.