Some Fun Facts About Halloween 

 

 

Halloween is celebrated each year on the thirty first 

of October. The holiday is Celtic in origin and came 

to North America by immigrants, especially those of 

Scottish descent. Loosely translated, Halloween means 

the last day of summer. Making jack o lanterns is a 

common tradition in the United States but it originally 

started in Scotland.

In Scotland they carved turnips. They did this as a reminder of the souls who 

were waiting in purgatory. The United States picked up the idea in eighteen 

hundreds but did so as a symbol of the fall harvest.

On October thirty first, children were costumes and go trick or treating. 

This custom can is reminiscent of the middle ages during which the poor would

go door to door and ask for food when a holiday came around. It is also like

medieval times when the poor would knock on doors and offer prayers for the

dead in return for food. Wearing costumes on this holiday has its origin in 

Ireland and Scotland. The children in these countries would dress up, carry

turnip lanterns and receive treats. It was not seen in the United States 

until 1911. At first the costumes were all gothic. They were figures like

monsters, ghosts and witches. In the 1930s the act of dressing up became

popular and soon princess and super villains were added to the mix. 

Halloween is a popular game day. One current game is going apple dunking and

this game consists of filling with water and the player tries to bite an 

apple out. This has lost a lot of popularity since people began to have 

concerns about hygiene. The older ones were more superstitious. For instance, 

in one game a person peels an apple in a single strip than throws it over his

or her shoulder. Whatever letter that strip most closely resembles is the first

letter of the future spouse.

There was another game similar but just for unmarried women. She was to sit 

alone in the dark on Halloween night and stare in the mirror and when she 

did the face of her future spouse would appear. If a skull appear, than she 

was meant to die alone. The holiday is right in the middle of apple season 

and so apples became a traditional treat. Candy apples, or toffee apples, 

are covered in a sweet syrup and then sometimes rolled in nuts. They used to 

be pretty popular to give to children when they tricked or treated but than 

there were reports that people were sticking blades in the apples. Really 

there was only a few cases but people became hysteric by the influence of 

mass media. Doctors went so far as to offer x raying bags full of candy. 

The truth is that not only were the cases rare, but they were most typically 

done by the parent to their child.

Halloween is viewed as a rather harmless holiday to most Christians. They 

see it as fun with no satanic connection. Other Christians, would like to 

get rid of the holiday because they view it as an act of paganism.

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                              History And Customs Of Halloween

Halloween is annually celebrated on October thirty first. 

It has a Celtic origin and came to North America by means 

of immigration, especially by immigrants of Scottish 

descent. Translated, the name means last night of summer.

Carving pumpkins and sticking candles inside is seen as

a tradition of the United States but had actually started in Scotland. 

However, it was turnips that were made into lanterns. This was done to remind

others of the souls doomed to purgatory. In the eighteen hundreds, people in

the United States began to make lanterns from pumpkins but did it to symbolize

the fall harvest.

Children go door to door on this day to trick or treat. This can be traced 

back to the middle ages when poor people population would knock on doors 

during the holidays and plead for food. It is also reminiscent of medieval 

times when they would offer prayers for dead relatives in the hopes of 

getting food in return.

Dressing up for Halloween was original to Scotland and Ireland. The children 

would go door to door, guising and carrying their carved turnips in return for 

treats, like money and nuts. The first recorded incident of a trick or treater 

wearing a costume occurs in 1911.

Originally costumes were gothic like. Children dressed like witches, monsters 

and ghosts. However, during the 1930s wearing costumes became very popular in

the United States and with it the idea of princess and hero costumes.

Halloween is popular for game playing. A modern game is apple bopping, in which

a basin or tub is filled with water and a player has to bop for an apple. 

This game is not really popular anymore since people started considering health

risks.

Older games tended to be superstitious. For example, in one game a person 

strips the skin of an apple with just one peel and throws it behind the 

shoulder. The letter that the peel looks like was said to be the name of a 

future husband or wife.

There was a similar game for unmarried women. In this one, she sits alone in 

the dark on Halloween night and if she stares into a mirror the face of her 

future husband appears. If a skull showed instead, she was to die before 

marriage.

Being right in the midst of apple picking season, Halloween had the candy 

apple as a popular food. Sometimes they are called toffee apples and they 

are rolled in a sweet tasting syrup and sometimes with nuts. People used to 

give them to children when they knocked on their doors but then children 

started finding razor blades in the apples. The cases were not many at all 

but the mass media made people hysterical. Doctors even offered to x ray 

bags of candy. Sadly, most of the cases in which razors were found they were

put there by the parents themselves.

Most Christians see Halloween as harmless. They do not think it consists of 

anything satanic. However, other Christians thinks it corrupts their children 

to the influences of paganism.

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                                 Traditions That Come With Halloween 

 

October thirty first is the annual celebration for 

Halloween. This is a holiday with a Celtic origin and

has been carried to the North America by immigrants, 

particularly of Scottish descent.The name is 

translated loosely as the last night of summer.

Carving pumpkins is a popular tradition and started originally in Scotland. 

They did not carve pumpkins but instead carved turnips. This was to remind 

people of the souls that waited in purgatory. When the United States picked it 

up in the early nineteenth century is was used as a symbol of harvest time. 

Children go around in costumes and say trick or treat. This dates back

to the middle ages when the poor would go around during holidays and beg for 

food. It also resembles a medieval custom when the poor would go and ask for 

treats in return for prayers for the dead.

The act of dressing up originated in Scotland and Ireland. Children would go 

guising and carrying around carved turnips and receive treats, like fruit or 

money. The first incident of dressing up for the holiday as seen in the United 

States dates back to 1911.

Costumes used to be those that resembled something gothic. This included 

witches, ghosts and monsters. However, soon after becoming popular in the 

United States, around the 1930s, the costumes began to resemble other things 

like fairytale princesses or super heroes.

Games are popular on this day. One of most well known is dunking for apples, 

during which a player dips his or her head into a basin full of water and apples 

and tries to bite one out. This is not so popular anymore however, because of 

the hygienic risks involved.

Older games are more superstitious. One involves a person peeling an apple in 

one strip and throwing it backwards over the shoulder. The letter that the 

peel resembles was said to be the first letter of a future spouse.

Another similar game was for unmarried women. It was said that if a women sat 

alone on Halloween night and stared in the dark at a mirror that the face of 

her future husband would appear. If a skull appeared instead, this meant that 

she would die before getting married.

Since the holiday takes place right during apple season, apples are a common 

treat. Called candy apples or toffee apples they are covered in a sweet syrup 

and sometimes rolled in nuts. These were once a popular giveaway for children 

knocking door to door. However, there are reports of razor blades being hidden 

in them. There were only a few cases but the mass media created a hysteria. 

At one point, hospitals even offered to x ray bags of candy for children. All

this despite the fact that the few razor blade cases that did exist, were 

typically done by the parent to their own child.

Most Christian religions see Halloween as a harmless holiday. To them there 

is no connection with paganism. Others however, frown upon it and say it 

encourages paganism.

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