Halloween goes back more than 2,000 years. Of course light up costumes and hair dye weren\u2019t a thing then. Halloween started as a pre-Christian Celtic festival called Samhain (which means “summer’s end”) and it was held around the first of November. It celebrated the final day of the harvest and the crossing of spirits over into the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Believe it or not, trick-or-treating has existed since medieval times. Except, you weren\u2019t getting Reese\u2019s cups. Children dressed up in costumes and asked for food or money in exchange for songs, poems, or other “tricks.” Now you know where the phrase \u201ctrick or treat!\u201d comes from! And did you know there was a time when Halloween was also used to find your soulmate? It\u2019s really true. During the 18th century, Halloween was celebrated with traditions for women to find a husband. According to History.com, women would use apple peels to learn their future husband\u2019s initials and competitively bob for apples because whoever won would be the first to get married. The creepiest husband-finding tradition included standing in a dark room with a candle in front of a mirror with the hopes of finding their future husband\u2019s face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Halloween is the second largest commercial holiday in the country \u2013 can you guess what\u2019s first? Of course you can\u2026 good ol\u2019 St. Nick comes in first with Christmas. On average, American\u2019s spend $86.27 on Halloween every year. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), that average came out to approximately $9 billion on Halloween last year. That\u2019s a lot of money spent on Halloween decorations, tons of candy and fancy costumes. For the sake of comparison\u2026 at Christmas, in 2019 the average spend was $1,048.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s be 19 years since the last full moon on Halloween. So that means, the last time there was a full moon on Halloween was in 2001. Before that it was 1955! A full moon on Halloween is pretty rare. In fact, in the 21st century, we will only see six full moons Halloween: 2001, 2020, 2039, 2058, 2077 and 2096.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s really not surprising to hear that the most popular children’s costumes are princesses and superheroes. For adults, witches are the classic fan favorite and scary clowns. And for our furry friends, a pumpkin!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, do you know where pumpkin carvings game from? The Irish brought us jack-o’-lanterns. Here\u2019s the story: an Irish man named Stingy Jack tricked the devil. He was therefore banned from heaven or hell (yikes). And so, he spent his days roaming the Earth, carrying a lantern. That\u2019s how he got the name, “Jack of the Lantern.” These spooky carvings used to be carved out of turnips, potatoes, and beets. Once Halloween became popular in America, people started using the big orange pumpkins we know and love today. Fun fact: Stephen Clarke holds the record of the fastest pumpkin carving time of 16.47 seconds. CRAZY!! To beat this record, you must carve a complete face, including eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here at TextbookRush we love to eat candy, especially around Halloween. That got us wondering which candy is the most and least popular. So we asked, and you answered. Here\u2019s what you said…<\/p>\n\n\n\n We all love the costumes and candy, but have you ever wondered how Halloween became what it is today? Well look no further.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1868,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[207],"tags":[235,111],"yoast_head":"\r\n![\"Top](\"https:\/\/blog2.textbookrush.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/halloween-candy-survey-results-541x1024.png\")
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"