Halloween Facts You Probably Didn’t Know

Halloween facts you probably didn’t know are the focus today. We all know that Halloween is a night of dressing up and tromping around the neighborhood for sugary treats that will cause our children to become raving lunatics. But do we know any more than that? Well, you will after you read this! Get ready from some Halloween facts that will blow your mind!

Halloween Facts – Fun and Interesting All Hallow’s Eve Trivia

So let’s get into it. Halloween hasn’t always been about candy. Well, it has, but it hasn’t always been about JUST candy. It actually has a long, storied history that most of us don’t know.

Halloween Used to Be Work

The practice of trick or treating can be traced back to the European practice of “mumming”. People showed up to houses wearing costumes and performing dances, songs, and play in exchange for treats. In some early version of the practice, men paraded from door to door while boy followed and begged for coins. These early trick-or-treaters were poor and actually needed that money.

Halloween is the Real Irish Holiday

Most people think of St. Patrick’s Day when they think of Irish holidays, but it was basically invented in American by Irish-Americans. In fact, until the ’70s, it was only a minor religious holiday in Ireland. Add to that that St. Patrick was more than likely NOT Irish and the story about him banishing snakes is actually a metaphor for his ousting of Irish paganism, St. Patrick’s Day is really not very Irish at all.

And speaking of Irish paganism, THAT’S where we get Halloween. The true Irish holiday, Halloween originates from a Celtic festival for the dead called Samhain. The Celts believed that the ghosts of the dead came forth onto the earth on this day. People dressed in costumes and left treats by their front doors to appease the roaming spirits. The Celts also invented the Jack O’Lantern, a staple of our modern day Halloween.

Costumes Used to be Animal Skins and Heads

One of the more macabre Halloween facts is this one. If you think the involved rubber masks you sometimes see are ghoulish, just think of what it was like back when Halloween celebrants meant business. Tribes in what is now Germany and France wore costumes made of animal heads and skins.

Halloween A.K.A. Cabbage Night

If you think cleaning up after your house has been toilet papered is bad, read on, and you’ll feel somewhat better. Way, way back in early Framingham, Massachusetts, teens co-opted a Scottish fortune telling game where girls used cabbage stumps to predict what their future husbands would be like. The Framingham teens tweaked the game and instead threw cabbages at their neighbors’ houses. Later in the late 19th century, American boy purportedly threw cabbage, corn, and other rotten veggies at their neighbors’ homes.

Some Shelters Won’t Adopt Out Black Cats on the Holiday

Another of the more strange Halloween facts is that some shelters will not adopt out black cats around Halloween. Somehow a misconception that people may sacrifice the cats on Halloween has taken hold, although there is NO evidence to support this.

Halloween Brings Out the Inner Monster

This is one of the Halloween facts you might not know but that should also come as no surprised. Costumed children wearing masks have been shown to be more likely to act badly when they believed there was no adult supervision. The study showed that when these children grouped together, they were far more likely to steal candy and money than non-costumed children.

Halloween Facts – Who Knew?

I don’t know about you, but until I started researching this, I didn’t know ANY of these Halloween facts. It was interesting to read a few of these facts, especially when I came across the fact that Halloween is more Irish than St. Patrick’s Day. I am still shook.

Do you know any odd or lesser know Halloween facts that I didn’t list here? If so, please share!