Halloween Discussion Forums, Costumes, Horror!

Post your trivia and fun facts about Halloween here:

I'll start us off. Did you know that Anoka, Minnesota was the first city to officially recognize Halloween in 1921?

Jack-o-lanterns trace back to an old Irish tale about a man named Stingy Jack. Unable to enter Heaven because of his stingy ways and turned away by the Devil, Stingy Jack wandered the world, searching for a resting place. To light his way, Stingy Jack used a burning coal in a hollowed out turnip -- hence the name "jack-o-lantern." The first jack-o-lanterns, in fact, were carved out of turnips. Only when the Irish tradition reached America did turnip carving turn into pumpkin carving.

(And I totally copied and pasted there...don't have Cadaverino's encyclopedic mind or way with words. )

Now, you see...since I grew up in a SCOTS home tradition, WE took the credit for bringing the Jack o lantern here...But then, we were ALWAYS getting in the way of the Irish, even going over and kidnapping them in broad day light to be our new feisty brides...ah, the old days..
It's probably too long ago for anyone to ever really nail it down..
And, for what it's worth, here;s ANOTHER explaination of the start of the Jack of Lantern...it was used to scare off the Native American tribes during the wars with the settlers...it tended to freak them...fire inside a pumpkin??? Weird.
(This story at least matches the start of the expression INDIAN SUMMER..after the crops were in, it was still warm enough to go out and get back to the serious business of having a war with the various tribes..)

Now, some NICE stats...Halloween is the 6th most popular holiday...and the 2nd biggest for lawn and home decorations...and only behind Christmas in terms of candy sales..

Thanks for the kind words, Laurie Strode.

In Britain, from the 17th century to the 20th century, the term "jack-o'-lantern" referred to the will-o'-the-wisp phenomenon, not to carved vegetable lanterns.* The mysterious appearance of swamp gas lights was attributed to Jack wandering with his lantern.

It was in North America, in the early 19th century, that we first applied the term "jack-o'-lantern" to a carved vegetable lantern, in our case to pumpkins, and by mid-century associated the lantern with Halloween.

* Britain and Ireland certainly had carved vegetable lanterns, but they were not called jack-o'-lanterns, and they were not associated particularly with Halloween.

Samhainophobia is the medical/pscyhological term that describes an intense fear of Halloween

The current world record for the heaviest pumpkin in 1689 lbs. set in October of 2006

Wasn't that one of your pumpkins, HH?

Halloween supposed to have more history even then thanks giving.

Halloween is supposed to have more history even than Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The infamous Black Plague in Europe was due in part to the fact that people believed those with cats were witches. So all the cats were rounded up, caged and burned, leaving the rats (with there disease causing parasites) to run free and multiply. Those harbouring cats were many who survived

It is believed that bobbing for apples originated from the Ancient Roman harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.

Superstitions associated with Halloween--

The Welsh believed that when you sneezed you blew the soul out of the body, which is where “God bless you” originated. If someone sneezed on Halloween, it was especially dangerous because the devil could capture your soul.

Other cultures believed that owls swooped down to eat the souls of the dying. If they heard an owl hooting, they would get scared and believed that turning your pockets inside out would make you safe.

While eating dinner on Halloween, the Africans brought to America as slaves would eat in complete silence to encourage spirits to come to the table.

And in Britain, people believed the devil was a nut gatherer. On Halloween they would wear nuts as magic charms.

There is also a lot to be said about babies born on Halloween. It once was thought children born on this day can see and talk to ghosts and spirits, called the gift of second sight. Additionally, Halloween babies are supposed to enjoy lifelong protection against evil spirits.

Adding on to Laurie's superstitions:

The Scots believed in "Samhanach", a goblin who came out only on Samhain (Halloween) and stole children.

Hey just wanted to say that this is a great thread, full of interesting information

The tradition of wearing costumes on Halloween comes out of Scottish tradition. The Scots saw Halloween as the night when the dead walked among the living, and feared that the dead might steal their souls. To confuse them, the living would dress as the dead. On a less spiritual note, even then, it was a night of pranks, doors bombarded with cabbages and the like. If everyone's in costume, pranksters can't be recognized.