How well do you know Happy Halloween Trivia
Although Halloween in the U.S. is very commercialized, this time of year takes a spooky and fun life of its own for many. It brings back fond memories, whether as kids or adults, from years ago or more recently as last year, as an active participant or observer.
Halloween brings on everything from costume creations, scary movie marathons, pumpkin carving, decorations, favorite food, drink and candy, haunted houses, Halloween parades, and parties!
It a time to be creative and have some fun. And, all of us could use some kindness and fun. But, do you know much more about Halloween? Where and why it started? Or Other facts about Halloween? Test your knowledge with some Halloween Trivia.
Halloween Trivia: Did you know?
1. What does the word “Halloween” mean?
Answer: Hallowed Evening or Holy Night—because Halloween is a Catholic holiday too. Short for All Hallows’ Eve, Halloween is the day of the vigil held the evening before All Saints’ Day on November 1. Pope Gregory IV added All Saints’ Day to the official Church calendar in 837 C.E., expanding the holiday, which was previously celebrated only in Rome, to all churches.
The current English name Halloween traces back to medieval Christianity. The word hallow is derived from the Middle and Old English words for holy. As a noun, it can also mean saint. In those days, the Christian holiday we know as All Saints’ Day was called All Hallows’ Day, and the day before, when an evening mass was held, was All Hallows’ Eve. That name eventually got shortened to Halloween.
2. In what century did the tradition of trick-or-treating begin?
Answer: The American tradition of trick-or-treating dates back to the 1920s, but in Europe, as early as the 16th century people were known to go from door to door on Halloween night asking for food, reciting verses, wearing costumes, and warning of curses if they didn’t get a warm welcome.
3. The Scottish term for dressing up on Halloween is guising: true or false?
Answer: True
4. When was the first citywide Halloween celebration held in the US?
Answer: 1921 in Anoka, Minnesota
5. Where did the phrase “trick or treat” come from?
Answer: Some have traced the earliest print reference of the term trick or treat to 1927 in Canada. It appears that the practice didn’t really take hold in the US until the 1930s, where it wasn’t always well received.
6. When did trick or treat become the official phrase?
Answer: Trick-or-treating was common in Europe and America, but children didn’t ring the doorbell and say “trick-or-treat” until the early 1950s when there was a Peanuts comic strip about trick-or-treating. The phrase had been used here and there but wasn’t popularized until the cartoon.
7. Why do we give out candy on Halloween?
Answer: While the candy industry was on the hunt for a fall holiday, neighborhood parents were looking for an organized activity to keep youngsters out of trouble. And by the late 1940s, passing out treats was established as an alternative to tricks.
8. What were originally used as the first Jack-o’-Lanterns?
Answer: Turnips. Originating in Ireland, people would hollow out turnips and place a lump of coal in it as a type of lantern and set it at their door as a guide for poor “Jack.” Jack, legend has it, tricked the devil and wasn’t allowed into heaven or hell, so he was cursed to wander the earth forever in the in-between. The Irish then brought this tradition to America and found that pumpkins were a far better alternative to the turnip, thus instilling an American fall tradition.
9. What was the original purpose of bobbing for apples on Halloween?
Answer: Fortune-telling, specifically predicting whom a woman would marry. Each apple represented a different suitor, and whichever apple the woman ended up biting into was said to represent her future husband.
10. True or false: the night before Halloween has different names depending on where you live?
Answer: True
The night before Halloween is called “Mischief Night” around New Jersey and Pennsylvania, while it’s called “Devil’s Night” n Michigan. Other names for this day include All Hallows Eve, Lamswool Snap-Apple Night, Samhaim, and Summer’s End.
11. What was the original name for candy corn?
Answer: Chicken Feed. According to History.com, the Goelitz Candy Company (now Jelly Belly Candy Company) popularized the classic tricolor Halloween treat when it began marketing the kernels under that name in 1898.
12. How many pounds of candy corn are produced every single year?
Answer: You may find it hard to believe, but 35 million pounds of candy corn is made every year! That’s 9 billion pieces of the tricolor wonders to munch on every Halloween.
13. Which famous magician actually died (!) on Halloween?
Answer: You might find it hard to believe, but the magician Harry Houdini passed away on Halloween day.
14. Halloween the Movie. How is Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) related to killer Michael Myers in the Halloween movie franchise?
Answer: Trick question! The answer depends on the movie. Halloween II, released in 1981, reveals that Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, is Michael Myers’s sister. Later sequels followed suit until 2018’s Halloween—a direct sequel to the 1978 original in which no family relation is mentioned. So, in the 2018 movie, Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022), Laurie and Michael are unrelated. Confusing, yes it is.
15. A city in Canada banned kids older than 16 from trick-or-treating: true or false?
Answer: True. Bathurst, New Brunswick banned kids older than 16 from tick-or-treating as an attempt to decrease Halloween mischief.
16. What is America’s favorite Halloween candy?
Answer: Reese’s Cups. So says bulk candy distributor CandyStore.com, which crunched 15 years of sales data from 2007 to 2021.
17. In what state is it the norm for trick-or-treaters to receive full-size candy bars on Halloween?
Answer: Oregon, according to CandyStore.com.
18. Which country holds the record for the largest pumpkin ever?
Answer: Italy! Grown in 2021, the pumpkin weighed in at a whopping 1,226
kilograms (just shy of 2,702 pounds) and measured 11 feet 8 inches in diameter.
19. How many colors of M&Ms are there in a normal bag?
Answer: Six. The colors in a regular bag of M&Ms are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and brown. In 1995, consumers were asked to vote on what color they wanted to replace the original tan M&Ms. Blue won and was introduced later that same year.
20. Why are black cats associated with Halloween?
Answer: In Medieval Europe, it was believed that devils and witches could disguise as black cats.
21. What is the most popular Halloween costume for pets?
Answer: Pumpkin
22. Which US state produces the most pumpkins?
Answer: Illinois
23. What is the record for most lit jack-o’-lanterns on display?
Answer: 30,581
According to Guinness World Records, Keene, New Hampshire flaunted the most lit jack- o’-lanterns on display on October 19, 2013.
24. Where is the biggest Halloween parade in the US thrown?
Answer: New York
There are typically over 50,000 participants in the Village Halloween Parade. It happens in the evening on Halloween night itself. It’s free for anyone to march in the parade, but costumes are mandatory, of course! There is also always a fun theme for each year’s parade; in 2023, the theme is “Upside Down Inside Out”.
25. What will you be doing to celebrate Halloween?
Answer: Only you know the answer. Enjoy!
Wish you and safe and Happy Halloween!
