10 Fun Halloween Facts Halloween has a long and colorful history! Why not share these tidbits with your residents during your facility's celebration this year? It's hard to imagine jack-o'-lanterns being carved out of anything but pumpkins, but the tradition actually began in Ireland with large turnips and potatoes. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America, home of the pumpkin, where carvers found that the large orange fruit made for a perfect jack-o'-lantern. Halloween can trace its roots back 2,000 years to a Celtic celebration called Samhain, which means "summer's end." The Celts believed that Samhain was a time when the dead could walk among the living. According to the National Retail Federation, nearly 158 million consumers will participate in Halloween activities this year. On average, they'll spend $75.03 on decorations, costumes, candy and other Halloween-related fun. Trick-or-treating originated on All Souls' Day during the Middle Ages, when poor people in Great Britain would beg for soul cakes, a sweet-bread treat, and pray for dead relatives in return. American children began trick-or-treating in the 1800s, but the focus was more on pranks than candy. By the 1950s, the focus had switched to costumes and family fun. According to an Irish legend, jack-o'-lanterns are named for a man called Jack who could not go to Heaven or Hell and was forced to walk the earth forever with only a coal from Hell to light his lantern. Humans aren't the only ones getting in on the Halloween fun. The National Retail Federation reports that approximately $330 million will be spent on Halloween costumes for pets this year. Black and orange are the colors most commonly associated with Halloween. Orange represents the autumn harvest, while black is tied to death and darkness. The modern-day Halloween game of bobbing for apples is thought to be derived from Roman celebrations of Pomona, the goddess of fruit trees. According to the National Confectioners Association, three-quarters of Americans say that chocolate is their favorite Halloween treat. While many of us enjoy Halloween, there's a word for people who have an extreme, intense or irrational fear of Halloween – samhainophobia. From our team to yours, have a safe and happy Halloween!

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