Fun Facts About Halloween

5 Fun Facts About Halloween

Halloween is the second most popular holiday celebrated around the world after Christmas. It is now a huge commercial event with many companies making their best sales during this period.

Every year we celebrate Halloween on 31st October by getting dressed up in fancy dress costumes, sending the children out trick or treating and holding a whole host of fantastically themed parties featuring ghosts, ghouls and witches. Some people may have forgotten the true story behind Halloween. Here are some fun facts about the origins of this particular event and why we celebrate it.

What Does Halloween Mean?

Halloween is actually short for Hallows Eve or Hallows Evening. It was a Celtic event which actually celebrated the end of the Pagan year. Even though it was a time of celebration, there was a fear and belief that the spirits of the dead would rise on this evening and cause widespread panic and mayhem.

Why Do We Wear Costumes?

This is also linked with the traditions of the Pagan holidays. It was believed that the prosperity of the new season could be affected due to the appearance of the evil spirits.

People were scared so they would disguise themselves in different types of costumes in order to prevent any evil spirits from being able to recognise them as being human.

What Is the Importance of Bobbing For Apples?

During this period of time, apples were considered very sacred and it was a tradition to honour Pomona, who is the Goddess of fruitful abundance. The origin of the game of bobbing for apples dates from this time. This is where apples are placed in a container of water and people have to try and pick one up without using their hands. It is a very messy but hilarious activity that can be enjoyed by children as well as adults.

What Is the Significance of the Colours Orange and Black?

You may have noticed that the colours used in the majority of Halloween decorations and clothing tend to be predominately orange and black. This is because way back in history orange represented harvest while the colour black represented death and darkness.

Why Do We Carve Pumpkins?

During the Hallows Eve, candles would be placed in hollowed out turnips and used to ward off evil spirits that were thought to have risen from the dead. These were called Jack o’ Lanterns. When Immigrants arrived in America they continued to celebrate this date and pumpkins became the vegetable of choice. This was because they were more readily available and as they were larger than the average turnip, they were also easier to carve.

These days’ people create amazing designs using pumpkins, gourds and other types of vegetables. Candles are still used but many people prefer the safety of LED lights especially if they have small children.

Halloween Customers - Kids

Simple Halloween Costumes for Your Child

If you have small children it can be hard to find a simple Halloween costume that doesn’t have tons of buttons or zippers. You want to have a costume that is easy to put on, looks great and one that can be taken off quickly when necessary.

Quite often a simple Halloween costume is usually more comfortable and easy to wear. You don’t want a costume that restricts your child’s movements. Remember they will be running around a lot and are sure to get quite warm regardless of the weather.

One of the added benefits of buying a simple Halloween costume is that they are normally less expensive. Plus you can still add Halloween accessories to dress the costume up a bit more. If you have a few children to buy for looking for simple costumes can really help keep you on budget.

If you like to sew or do crafts then you can make a homemade Halloween costume for your kids too. Some great examples would be making a ghost, fairy or pirate costume. Fairy wings can be constructed from still felt and attached with two homemade elastic straps.

Robots can be made with cardboard and a can of silver spray paint. If you do make any type of costume from cardboard, be sure to leave lots of room so your child can move their arms and legs freely.

One color outfits are a great idea, easy to make and more affordable. A simple bumble bee costume can be made by adding yellow stripes to a black sweatshirt and pants. Turn your small child into a ladybug by dressing them in red and adding large black dots or circles to their outfit. In the same theme you can make a Christmas Tree of Elf outfit and attach miniature Christmas Ornaments to their outfits.

A really neat idea that I wanted to share with you was making a Fried Egg Halloween costume! Dress your child in black. Get a white poncho type cape and sew a yellow, felt, egg yolk on to it.

Costumes that are simple and different also make it much easier for you to keep track of your child. They will most likely be out with a crowd of other children, and children dressed similarly can be harder to identify. Wouldn’t you prefer to know exactly where your child is at all times?

Another way to keep the cost of a Halloween costume down is to look for sale or bargain costumes. Many local stores and even those online will have a discount section. Quite often with prices at under $20 per costume which can be a huge help.

If you are looking for simple but great Halloween costumes this year try to think outside the box a little. If you are creative then try to make your own costumes. If not you can become a savvy shopper and look for specials and bargain racks to help save you money and time.

Halloween Costumes - Disney

Disney's Halloween Costumes

Who doesn’t love the World of Walt Disney and with Halloween right around the corner, Disney Halloween costumes are becoming increasingly popular. You may find it surprising that adults as well as kids love this type of costume. Plus this is a good reason why it is never too soon to start shopping for this year’s Disney Halloween costume. They are sure to sell out fast!

There is an entire range of Disney costumes for you to choose from. The classic costumes such as Cinderella and Snow White are still popular. Then you have other Disney costumes including Toy Story characters and Cars 2 which highlight more recent Disney movies.

Pirates are another favorite for both adults and kids and who wouldn’t be happy dressing up in the Pirates of the Caribbean costumes? Plus don’t forget about good old Captain Hook!

For toddlers there are some wonderful costumes that include Tinkerbell, Fairies and Minnie Mouse. These particular costumes are always popular and look cute on younger children. For boys you can choose from Mickey Mouse costumes and Woody. For infants one of the cutest Disney costumes just has to be Winnie the Pooh and this costume is perfect for girls as well as boys.

As your children get older they start to want those more popular costumes from all the latest movies. Ideas for older kids include a Jack Sparrow costume or Jasmine from Aladdin. Another very popular choice for girls is the Hannah Montana costume as well as dressing up as Jesse from Toy Story.

A highly popular costume this year is Jake and The Neverland Pirates. This is one costume that you should definitely buy early as lots of kids are asking for this particular costume.

It can get expensive buying new Halloween costumes every year. If you have more than one child hopefully you can pass costumes down to younger children. Or dress up an older costume with a new mask or accessories.

One way to save on your budget when buying Halloween costumes is to start saving up earlier in the year for the costumes. You can even get your kids to start saving a little each week or month during the summer months. This can be really helpful if your kids want a new costume each year. Why not get them to help pay for it.

Another budget saving idea is to simply put a limit on what each child can spend on a costume. This way they can then choose something within your guidelines. You save money and they still get the costume they want. Older kids could add to this budget with money saved up from a paper route or grass cutting job.

Disney’s Halloween costumes are not likely to go out of style. New movies are being released and older movies are made into DVD’s, creating renewed interest in the classics. Buying a Disney Halloween costume can be a wise investment and even if you can’t hand it down you can still end up selling it in a yard sale.