Arizona Daily Wildcat
Monday, October 31, 2005
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Things you've always never wanted to know
Halloween is on the last day of the Celtic calendar. Halloween was referred to as All Hallows Eve and dates back to more than 2,000 years ago.
The earliest Halloween celebrations took place among the Celts, who lived more than 2,000 years ago in where is now England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern France. The Celtic priests, called druids, used to honor Samhain, the god of the dead, on the evening of Oct. 31 and the day of Nov. 1. According to Celtic legend, Samhain controlled the spirits of the dead and could allow them to rest peacefully or make them go wild on this night.
Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped candy in America.
The ancient Celts thought spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. The Celts then wore masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.
Halloween candy sales average about $2 billion annually in the U.S.
Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters, with Snickers as the No. 1 choice.
Halloween is the second-most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first.
Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the Roman harvest festival that honored Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees. Also, the apple has strong associations with Demeter, the Roman goddess of the hearth and home. Bobbing for apples is also a fertility rite or a marriage divination.
Black cats were once believed to be witch's familiars who protected their powers.
To this day, there are vampire clubs and societies with people claiming to be real vampires.
The Ouija Board ended up outselling the game of Monopoly in its first full year. More than 2 million copies were shipped.
