Category: Halloween...

Halloween's origin is the Celtic festival of Samhain in ancient Britain and Ireland
along with other festivities, the celebration of Halloween was largely forbidden among the early American colonists - but the Irish immigrants changed all that and Halloween became a principal U.S. holiday by the mid-19th century
the jack-o-lantern was originally a turnip carved into a demonic face and lit with a candle
kids who prefer fruit to candy at Halloween
There is nothing funny about Halloween. This sarcastic festival reflects, rather, an infernal demand for revenge by children on the adult world. (J. Baudrillard)
the Celts believed that witches and ghosts roamed the earth on the night of October 31, revisiting places they lived when they were alive. The Celts wore masks to protect themselves and frighten off these creatures.
by the end of the Middle Ages, secular and sacred days concerning Halloween were combined and eventually it lost any religious significance after the Reformation
about 50% of adults dress up for Halloween and 86% decorate their houses
about 99% of pumpkins are turned into jack-o-lanterns
Halloween is now second only to Christmas as a retail holiday
there are over a million practicing witches in the United States - about the same collective number as writers or firefighters