Halloween Historical Facts

1. Nevada was founded on Halloween of 1864.

2. Halloween originates among the Irish, Spaniards, Portuguese, and Eastern Europeans around the 4th century AD.

3. Cats, owls, and ravens have long been believed to protect witches from negative forces.

4. The original jack-o-lanterns were carved from turnips.

5. Pumpkins are closely biologically related to cucumbers, zucchini, and squash.

6. Halloween's original name was All Hallows' Eve.

7. The original Halloween costumes were made of animal skins and heads.

8. Trick or treating originated among peasants coming up to wealthy people's houses in request for gifts, money, and food. The food they got would result in huge feasts and celebrations.

9. The word "bonfire" is derived from the words "bones" and "fire". The ancient and early medieval people from Ireland, Spain, Portugal, and Eastern Europe would burn bones of slaughtered cattle for Halloween ceremonies.

10. If you see a spider on Halloween, it has been believed to be the spirit of a loved one watching over you.

11. The reason why orange and black are Halloween colors is because orange is associated with the Autumn Harvest while black is associated with darkness and death.

12. Halloween was brought to North America by Europeans who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance, and tell fortunes.

13. The ancient Irish, Spaniards, Portuguese, and Eastern Europeans believed that ghosts would roam around at night so they would wear masks in order to avoid being recognized as humans.

14. Imhotep was a real pharaoh from ancient Egypt. He was also a doctor, scientist, and builder. The Mummy movies and 1827 novel were inspired from him.

15. Count Dracula was also a real person from the Middle Ages. He fought for Romania against the Ottoman Empire and was in the Order of the Dragon. He impaled over 2,000 Ottomans. The movies and 1897 novel were both inspired from him.

16. Bobbing for apples dates back as far as ancient Rome in order to honor the Roman goddess Ceres, whom the dwarf planet was named after. Ceres was the goddess of harvesting and her Greek equivalent was Demeter.

Vanilla Ice, Willow Smith, Jim Benton, Peter Jackson, and Adam Horovitz (from the Beastie Boys) all have their birthdays on Halloween.
Procter and Gamble was founded on Halloween of 1837 in Cincinnati, Ohio.