FUN FACTS ABOUT HALLOWEEN

[Cadaverino]

Although popular histories of Halloween attribute every modern Halloween practice to ancient times, there's actually very little primary documentation of costuming or masking on Halloween before the 20th century — in Britain, Ireland, or America. For example, the great Scottish poet Robert Burns, in his poem Hallowe'en (1785), catalogs all sorts of customs of that holiday (most of them involve divination), but masking or costuming isn't among them.

[Laurie Strode]

Apples have long been associated with female deities, and with immortality, resurrection, and knowledge. One reason is that if an apple is cut through its equator, it will reveal a five-pointed star outlined at the center of each hemisphere. This was a pentagram -- a Goddess symbol among the Roma (Gypsies), Celts, Egyptians, etc. There are many Halloween folk traditions associated with apples:

* Unmarried people would attempt to take a bite out of an apple bobbing in a pail of water, or suspended on a string. The first person to do so was believed to be the next to marry.

* Peeling an apple in front of a candle-lit mirror was believed to produce the image of one's future spouse.

* Attempting to produce a long unbroken apple peel was said to estimate the number of years you had to live. The longer the peel, the longer your life expectancy.

[Laurie Strode]

The town of Hancock, MD has refused for more than 20 years to declare a specific date for Halloween. Their rationale is that if they set a particular date and a child gets hurt during the trick-or-treating, then the town might be liable for damages.

[Haunted Horseman]

Halloween is the 8th largest card-sending occasion. There are over 28 million Halloween cards sent each year!

[Haunted Horseman]

Witch means wise one. It comes from the Saxon word wica. Witches were thought to be wise enough to tell the future.

[Haunted Horseman]

Some believe that if you see a spider on Halloween, it is a sign that the spirit of a loved one is watching over you.