Halloween facts

[Gemini]

Halloween Trivia

• Orange and black are Halloween colours because orange is associated with the autumn harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.
• Jack o’ Lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday.
• Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green. Great for unique monster carvings!
• 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.
• 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/
• Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the roman harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.
• Black cats were once believed to be witch's familiars who protected their powers.
• The fear of Halloween is known as Samhainopobia.
• Signs of a werewolf are a unibrow, hair palms, tattoos, and a long middle finger.
• Vampires are mythical beings who defy death by sucking the blood of humans.
• In 1962, The Count Dracula Society was founded by Dr. Donald A. Reed.
• To this day, there are vampire clubs and societies with people claiming to be real vampires.
• There really are so-called vampire bats, but they're not from Transylvania. They live in Central and South America and feed on the blood of cattle, horses and birds.
• Many people still believe that gargoyles were created by medieval architects and stone carvers to ward off evil spirits
• The movie "Halloween" was made in only 21 days in 1978 on a very limited budget.
• The movie was shot in the Spring and used fake autumn leaves.
• The mask used by Michael Meyers in the movie "Halloween" was actually William Shatner's mask painted white.
• The character Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis was named after John Carpenter's first girlfriend.
• While the setting for the story is in Illinois, the vehicles have California license plates.
• Halloween is on October 31st, the last day of the Celtic calendar. It was originally a pagan holiday, honouring the dead. Halloween was referred to as All Hallows Eve and dates back over 2000 years.
• If you see a spider on Halloween, it is said to be the spirit of a loved one watching over you.
• Worldwide, bats are vital natural enemies of night-flying insects.
• The common little brown bat of North America has the longest life span for a mammal it's size, with a life span averaging 32 years.

[Qwerty]

Very interesting !!! Apart from the spider bit

[Daisy]

Lots of interesting fact, Gem - I didn't know many of them.

As you say, Hallowe'en is the day before the Saints Day of All Hallows or All Saints Day - a Christian festival. The Catholic school I once worked in used to celebrate it with a day off!

[WeeGranny]

DS who works in Slovakia has holiday tomorrow (1st November). He says all the graves are decorated with lights and candles and families make a special visit to their loved ones' graves. he says the cemeteries are beautiful.

[Grauntie Mag]

Ooooh I saw a spider today, in fact it came inside with the basket of logs. That one was live, but not so for the one I vacuumed up in the kitchen. That was very dead.

[Daisy]

GM - if you've found a spider that will bring the logs in for you, I'd treasure it!

[Enfys]

It’d be a bit BIG though Daisy!

[Daisy]

Enfys - it would have to be a big strong chap to carry Grauntie Mag's basket of logs!