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66 Halloween Traditions
Halloween Traditions treats is clearly similar to a much older practice, Halloween Facts
"souling," in which the poor would go from
The inside scoop on jack-o'-lanterns house to house begging for alms or food. Trick or treating comes from the Middle-Age
and other Halloween traditions However, the specific practice of "trick-or- practice of the poor dressing up in costumes and
treating" dates to around the 1930s. It is going around door to door during Hallowmas
While rooted in the past (see Halloween possible—though by no means certain—that it begging for food or money in exchange for
History), Halloween as we know it today dates evolved as an antidote for the increasingly prayers. The food given was often a Soul Cake,
back to the early 20th century. rowdy and costly Halloween pranks. It provided which was a small round cake which
a healthier activity for the young and gave them represented a soul being freed from Purgatory
The holiday was relatively obscure in an incentive not to play tricks. when the cake was eaten.
late 19th century America. It was brought to the
country by Irish and Scottish immigrants, We could easily make something up Halloween is also know by other names:
combining the features of the Celtic and about the origins of Halloween costumes. We - All Hallows Eve
Christian holidays, and celebrated with feasting, could say that people originally dressed as - Samhain
divinations, and mischief making. ghosts and witches to scare people, and that the - All Hallowtide
practice eventually spread to include costumes - The Feast of the Dead
Jack-o'-Lanterns of all sorts. But the fact is that we don't actually - The Day of the Dead
know where Halloween costumes came from,
People had been carving gourds or pumpkins only that the practice, like trick-or-treating, The owl is a popular Halloween image. In
and using them as lanterns long before this appears to have begun in early 20th century Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be
practice was associated with Halloween. In America.[] witches, and to hear an owl's call meant
1850, for example, poet John Greenleaf someone was about to die.
Whittier mentioned the practice of his boyhood Halloween Stats and Facts
in "The Pumpkin": "When wild, ugly faces we Halloween also is recognized as the 3rd biggest
carved in its skin, / Glaring out through the dark Trick or Treat! party day after New Year's and Super Bowl
with a candle within!" Sunday.
41.2 million
We don't know exactly when and why The estimated number of potential trick-or- Halloween is Oct. 31 – the last day of the Celtic
these lanterns became associated with treaters in 2014—children age 5 to 14—across calendar. It actually was a pagan holiday
Halloween in particular, though we do know it the U.S. Of course, many other children—older honoring the dead.
was in North America. But by the start of the than 14 and younger than 5—also go trick-or-
20th century, the connection was firmly treating Trick-or-treating evolved from the ancient
established. Celtic tradition of putting out treats and food to
117.3 million placate spirits who roamed the streets at
Hit the Road, Jack Number of occupied housing units across the Samhain, a sacred festival that marked the end
nation in second quarter 2015—all potential of the Celtic calendar year.
The name "Jack-o'-lantern" has changed in stops for trick-or-treaters.
meaning several times. It was first recorded as a Hauntingly Delicious Halloween is correctly spelt as Hallowe'en.
nickname for a night watchman, dating back to
1663. Around the same time, it was used as 1,337 If you see a spider on this night, it could be the
another name for a will-o'-the-wisp. It began to spirit of a dead loved one who is watching you.
be used for pumpkin lanterns sometime in the Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments
19th century. It's possible that the name simply that produced chocolate and cocoa products in Halloween is one of the oldest celebrations in
went from the night watchman (a man holding a 2012, employing 37,400 employees. This the world, dating back over 2000 years to the
lantern) to the lantern itself. industry's value of shipments totaled $14.9 time of the Celts who lived in Britain.
billion, up from $14.1 billion in 2007.
On the other hand, an Irish legend tells More than 93 percent of children go trick-or-
of a miserly man named Jack who, while alive, 441 treating each year. (source: NCA)
tricked the Devil into agreeing not to take him
into Hell. Upon his death, St. Peter wouldn't let Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments The tradition of adding pranks into the
Jack into Heaven, because he had been too that produced nonchocolate confectionary Halloween mix started to turn ugly in the 1930's
stingy and sinful. The Devil wouldn't let him products, employing 19,267 employees. This and a movement began to substitute practical
into Hell because of the deal they'd made. Jack industry's value of shipments totaled $7.7 jokes for kids going door to door collecting
was condemned to wander between Heaven and billion in 2012. candy.
Hell with his lantern, looking for a place to rest
and never finding one. 3,215 Black cats get a bad rap on Halloween because
Number of U.S. confectionary and nut stores they were once believed to be protected their
Mischief Night that sell candy and other confectionary master's dark powers.
products, employing 19,821 employees. This
In late 18th century America, Halloween industry's sales totaled $1.8 billion in 2012. Halloween was originally a Celtic holiday
was a night for mischief and pranks. Boys celebrated on October 31.
would make "tick-tacks," cutting notches in the
ends of a wooden spool and winding string Halloween was brought to North America by
around it. The spool would be placed right up immigrants from Europe who would celebrate
against a window, with a nail serving as an axle. the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories,
When the string was pulled, it made a loud and sing, dance and tell fortunes.
rapid "tick-tack" noise. Other noisy and
startling practices involved throwing corn and Orange and black are Halloween colors because
decaying vegetables at houses. orange is associated with the Fall harvest and
black is associated with darkness and death.
While this was considered innocent fun,
some pranksters began to go too far, especially There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme
with the move from country life to city life. with orange, the color of pumpkin. []
News stories tell of students being expelled
from schools, gangs of youths roaming through
town covering people in flour, buildings being
blown up, and so on.
Trick or Treat!
The general practice of going door-to-door for
