#HappyHaunting

The end of the harvest season & the beginning of winter is upon us as we celebrate Halloween. These days, people around the world are familiar with the American version of the holiday: costumes and trick-or-treating, jack-o’-lanterns and fun-sized candy bars. After a challenging eighteen months, it’s time to Eat, Drink and be Scary! Here’s a quick look at some fun and scary Halloween facts to ‘Trick or Treat’ your colleagues…         

It’s hard to believe but the holiday dates back more than 2,000 years. Halloween is even older than Christianity itself whilst trick-or-treating has existed since medieval times – back then, it was known as “guising” in Scotland and Ireland.

Scary to think, but it might explain a lot of things… Some Halloween rituals used to involve finding a husband. During the 18th century, single ladies devised Halloween traditions that were supposed to help them find a romantic match, women would throw apple peels over their shoulder, hoping to see their future husband’s initials in the pattern when they landed. When they bobbed for apples at parties, it was said the winner would marry first. Most spookily, they even used to stand in a dark room, holding a candle in front of a mirror to look for their future husband’s face to appear in the glass…No jokes there!

Halloween is the second-largest commercial holiday in the U.S. It ranks second after Christmas. Consumers spent approximately $9 billion on Halloween in 2019, according to the National Retail Federation. Spending was down a bit in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Americans still forked out over $8 billion overall, an average of $92 per person.

The Irish brought us jack-o’-lanterns. As the story goes, an Irish man named Stingy Jack tricked the devil and therefore was not allowed into Heaven or Hell — so he spent his days roaming the Earth, carrying a lantern, and went by ‘Jack of the Lantern.’ They also used to be carved out of turnips, potatoes and beets.

New York City throws the biggest Halloween parade in the U.S. On an average year, the event draws more than 2 million spectators and includes thousands of participants joining in the route along the way.

The fastest pumpkin carving only took 16.47 seconds. Stephen Clarke of New York holds the Guinness Book of World Records distinction, having carved his speedy lantern in October 2013.

Disney almost made ‘Hocus Pocus’ a completely different movie. The original title was going to be ‘Disney’s Halloween House’, with a much darker and scarier script. Not only that, but Leonardo DiCaprio was courted to play teenage heartthrob Max Dennison, he turned it down to appear in ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape’ instead.

How are you celebrating the end of October? Whether you’re indulging yourself with candy, a scary movie marathon, or a little bit of both, The X Generation team hopes you have a great time!