Halloween Trivia

I'll bet living in a nudist colony takes all the fun out of Halloween.

Unknown

Halloween is big business and if you think it’s a kid’s holiday, you’re mistaken. According to the National Retail Federation more money is spent on costumes for adults than for kids. And believe it or not last year Americans spent over $300 million on pet costumes. Yet, there are people who are samhainopobic – afraid of Halloween.

Here’s some fun Halloween trivia for you:

• Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday. Christmas is the first.
• Halloween is recognized as the 3rd biggest party day after New Year's and Super Bowl Sunday.
• The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.
• Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes.
• Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the Fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.
• The tradition of carving jack-o’-lanterns originated in Ireland, but they used turnips and beets instead of pumpkins.
• If you see a spider on Halloween night, it's thought to be the spirit of a loved one watching over you.
• Black cats were once believed to be witch's familiars who protected their powers.
• Last year, shoppers bought 90 million pounds of candy during Halloween week.
• Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States.
• Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters with Snickers #1.

According to Google, these are Canada's most-searched costumes for 2015:

1. Harley Quinn
2. Baymax
3. Joker
4. Minions
5. Paw Patrol
6. Cruella Deville
7. Minecraft
8. Mad Max
9. Steampunk
10. Star Wars
11. The Purge
12. Deadpool
13. Left Shark
14. Donald Trump
15. Sugar Skull
16. Black Widow
17. Princess Peach
18. Descendants

Proof of our society's decline is that Halloween has become a broad daylight event for many.

Robert Kirby

Make someone smile today and have a happy and safe Halloween!

Geri