Did you know Halloween began in the ancient Celtic times? Ok, well not quite Halloween as we know it today. But, the first trace of Halloween goes back to an ancient Celtic celebration! There are a lot of things we bet you do not know about this classic holiday that we hope to share with you to make your day spooky fun and educational!
Halloween goes back to the Celtic festival Samhain.
You may have heard of this festival before, as some Halloween centric movies have mentioned it and some who follow ancient religions still celebrate it today. Samhain was a festival in which the Celts believed the dead walked amongst the living as the times shifted from summer to winter. They would celebrate this as it was a point in which Druids, Celtic priests, were believed to see the future. They would light bonfires and dress in costumes to ward off the negative spirits who roamed the earth. This eventually merged with other holidays that were celebrated in other cultures. Overtime, it worked its way to our modern United States Halloween.
Do you know what candy corn was originally called?
This might really surprise you as it is not exactly the most appetizing name, for humans at least. Candy corn was originally called “Chicken Feed” when it was first on market shelves. A candy company in Philadelphia receives the credit for originating the Halloween candy back in the 1880s. It reached nationwide notoriety in 1898 when Goelitz Company spread the word of candy corn. When it first was called “Chicken Feed,” it was accompanied by a slogan of “something worth crowing for.” Now that is a scary fact!
Why are black cats associated with the holiday?
Black cats actually have a deep history of being associated with the spooky season. We can trace as far back to the Middle Ages this notion that black cats are associated with scary things. In the Middle Ages they viewed black cats as a sign of the devil. Then, during witch hunting times, many of the women accused of being a witch were often found to have a cat, usually black. This led people to associate black cats with witches. Many believed them to serve as a witch’s familiar, or magic assistant.
Many Halloween staples actually started as matchmaking activities.
The most prominent match making activity that is now just a Halloween party staple is bobbing for apples. It was originally a courting ritual that was a part of the Roman festival to celebrate the Roman Goddess Pomona. It was believed that young men and women could predict their romantic futures with the apple picking game. In some iterations, the women would then slice off a piece of the apple skin and fling it and they said that the skin would land in the shape of the letter of their husband’s first name. Now, anyone and everyone bobs for apples with no real connection to romance or love.
The famed Michael Myers mask from the Halloween film franchise is not what you think it is.
The mask famously worn by serial killer in the classic Halloween themed movies may seem to be a custom made spooky mask, but it actually is a mask meant to be William Shatner in his role as Captain Kirk from Star Trek. The production designer for the first Halloween film bought two masks at a magic shop on Hollywood Boulevard, the Captain Kirk mask and a clown mask. The story goes that he first put on the clown mask for the team, which they liked, then he put on the Captain Kirk mask, and they all knew that is the one.
We hope you all have a happy and safe Halloween this year!
