It’s never too late to know
- Celtics celebrated their Halloween or “Samhain” 2000 years ago, while the US of A only started on the 18th century when Europeans immigrated and introduced Halloween.
- Trick-or-treating or “guising” was also influenced by the Christian tradition of “souling”. This included beggars knocking from door-to-door and being given soul cakes in exchange of prayers for the departed ones of that particular household. After being prayed over, a candle will be lit for the family.
My precious…. Candies…
- In 2009, census showed that an average American can eat as much as 11 kilos of candy during Halloween. Hope they don’t eat those in one sitting!
- The colourful candy corn is the top selling candy for Halloween. Meanwhile, the most popular chocolate candy would have to be the Snickers bar, followed by the Kitkat and M&M’s.
Making your pumpkin Michaelangelo
- Illinois is the top producer of pumpkins. It produced as much as 520 million pounds in 2011, harvesting nearly 12,300 acres of it.
- Part of preparing a pumpkin for carving involves a bleach-water bath. This helps disinfect the pumpkin and prevent early moulding and rotting.
- To prevent your pumpkin from shrivelling, you can rub Vaseline on the cut edges and refrigerate it. Pumpkins are also 90% water, so if it starts wrinkling up, you can soak it in water and to hydrate it.
Not your typical costume
- Top costumes worn for 2012 were witch for adults, princess of kids and pumpkin for pets.
- Political figures never die out in Halloween costumes. Why not re-enact the election still?
Creepy critters
- Bats we always see on Halloween posters came from Celtics and their bonfire celebrations during Samhain. Bonfires would attract flies that are a bat’s food source. Plenty of flies lead to plenty of bats.
- All Halloween animals have two things in common: they’re black and they like to be left alone. Cats, bats, and spiders to name a few.
Is apple the Halloween fruit?
- Apples are a favourite during Halloween. It was made popular because apples are harvested just around October to November making them easily available around this time.
Safety is always an issue
- Keep your children off the road! Never mind the tainted candies, children between 5 and 14 are four times more likely to be involved in a car accident on Halloween than any other day of the year.
Celebrating Halloween in other places
- Halloween packages are being offered by some travel agencies. Salem, Massachusetts is always one of the top destinations during Halloween. Besides, why not go where the Salem Witch trials started?
- Mexicans celebrate their Halloween called “El Dia de los Muertos” or “Day of the Dead”. They believe that during this time, spirits walk the earth. And so they honour friends and family who passed on with festivities such as parties, lots of foods, parades, all while wearing costumes representing the dead.