Facts About Halloween | Gifts from Handpicked Blog

Halloween is one of our favourite times of the year, we love the autumnal colours, the scary faces, the delicious bakes, carving pumpkins and more! Many of us celebrate Halloween each year, and take part in all of the well known traditions, but have you ever wondered how many people actually celebrate Halloween? Or how many pumpkins are picked and carved each year! In this weeks blog we are going to have a look at some of the weirdest and most wonderful Halloween facts and figures that may surprise you. Not only do we have some incredible facts about Halloween, we also have a new range of Halloween and Autumn homeware decorations that we think you'll love. So what are you waiting for? Explore facts about Halloween today and find yourself some new Halloween decor for your home.

Facts About Halloween!

1. Did you know that the first Jack O Lanterns were made out of Turnips! Pumpkins were never the first vegetable to be used for Jack O Lanterns. 

2. Halloween used to be called All Hallows' Eve. It comes from the Christian festival of All Hallows' Day which is a celebration of the dead, which were normally Saints.

3. The UK spends on average around £474 million on Halloween, making it one of the biggest festivities that we celebrate.

4. Although many images of Halloween depict a full moon, actually seeing a full moon on Halloween is extremely rare! On average, there is a full moon every 19 years on Halloween.

5. Steve Clarke from the USA holds the record for the fastest pumpkin carving, he created a Jack O Lantern face on a pumpkin in 16.47 seconds.

6. Halloween is over 2000 years old, with it being older than Christianity. It comes from a Celtic festival called Samhain which means 'summers end.'

7. Jack O Lanterns actually come from Ireland! Depicted from the story of Stingy Jack, the story tells of an Irish man who tricked the devil and was not allowed into Heaven or Hell. Due to this, he roamed the earth and carried a lantern.

8. Trick or treating was once known as souling. This comes from medieval times in which people would go around offering prayers for the dead in exchange for soul cakes.

9. There is a phobia of Halloween which is called Samhainophobia!

10. According to tradition, putting salt on your front door step or in a room can ward off evil spirits throughout Halloween.

We hope you have found some interesting facts about Halloween in this weeks blog! Did you know that you can shop our full collection of Halloween decor on our website. Click the link to discover the full range today!