Happy Halloween! Some Fun Halloween Facts for you!

Some Fun Halloween Facts for you to enjoy!

Fun Facts About Candy Corn

• Candy corn has been made with the same recipe by the Jelly Belly Candy Company since around 1900.
• What's in that recipe, exactly? Sugar, corn syrup, and marshmallow.
• One serving (about 30 pieces) has 140 calories, the equivalent of three miniature Hershey bars.
• The National Confectioners Association reports that more than 35 million pounds were manufactured in 2005, amounting to almost 9 billion kernels.

Fun Facts about Trick or Treating:

• Trick-or-treating harks back to the Middle Ages and All Souls’ Day, when poor people in Britain would beg for soul cakes, a sweet-bread treat, and pray for dead relatives in return.
• When trick-or-treating first became popular in the United States in the 1800s, more children played mischievous pranks than asked for candy. By the 1950s, though, the focus had switched to good old family fun, with sugar-hyped children dressed in costumes.
• The candy-collecting tradition has spread from the United States to Canada, Australia, and Western Europe, where more and more little goblins now trick-or-treat. In parts of England, children carry lanterns called punkies (which look like jack-o’-lanterns) and parade through the town on the last Thursday of October. In Ireland, rural neighborhoods light bonfires, and children play snap apple, in which they try to take a bite from apples that are hung by strings from a tree or a door frame.
• Chocolate makes up about three-quarters of a trick-or-treater’s loot, according to the National Confectioners Association.

A Few Facts about Halloween:

Black and orange are typically associated with Halloween. Orange is a symbol of strength and endurance and, along with brown and gold, stands for the harvest and autumn. Black is typically a symbol of death and darkness and acts as a reminder that Halloween once was a festival that marked the boundaries between life and death.

“Halloween” is short for “Hallows’ Eve” or “Hallows’ Evening,” which was the evening before All Hallows’ (sanctified or holy) Day or Hallowmas on November 1. In an effort to convert pagans, the Christian church decided that Hallowmas or All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2) should assimilate sacred pagan holidays that fell on or around October 31.

Ireland is typically believed to be the birthplace of Halloween.

Mexico celebrates the Days of the Dead (Días de los Muertos) on the Christian holidays All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2) instead of Halloween. The townspeople dress up like ghouls and parade down the street.

Mexico celebrates the Days of the Dead (Días de los Muertos) on the Christian holidays All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2) instead of Halloween. The townspeople dress up like ghouls and parade down the street.

Teng Chieh or the Lantern Festival is one Halloween festival in China. Lanterns shaped like dragons and other animals are hung around houses and streets to help guide the spirits back to their earthly homes. To honor their deceased loved ones, family members leave food and water by the portraits of their ancestors.

In many countries, such as France and Australia, Halloween is seen as an unwanted and overly commercial American influence.

Halloween celebrations in Hong Kong are known as Yue Lan or the “Festival of the Hungry Ghosts” during which fires are lit and food and gifts are offered to placate potentially angry ghosts who might be looking for revenge

Boston, Massachusetts, holds the record for the most Jack O’Lanterns lit at once (30,128).

http://www.factretriever.com/halloween-facts

http://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/holidays/halloween/halloween-fun-facts

Happy Winter Solstice to you!

Happy Winter Solstice/Yule everyone........Winter is here (or summer in other parts of the world).

A few facts on Winter Solstice/Yule:

1) It's the shortest day of the year.

We receives less daylight on that day than on any other day of the year.

2) The Romans honored the Winter Solstice with a festival called Saturnalia. During this celebration, slaves ate with their masters. 

Servants would feast with their masters, and a Mock King would be elected to preside over the festival. During this time, all schools would close, no prisoners would be executed, and people would parade about the streets dressed in masks or blackface.

3) The Scandinavian barbarians held a festival called Jiuleis to celebrate the solstice. The burning of the yule log came from this. 

 

It is believed that the term Yule comes from this festival. The Norsemen would burn a log to repel the cold and darkness and the wood was thought to bring good luck to each household. Their King Hakon thought the festival should coincide with the Christian winter holiday.

Did you know that many of the ancient ruins we visit were built to celebrate solstices? The temple Newgrange in Ireland was built to honor Winter Solstice.

Newgrange was erected to celebrate the Winter Solstice. At 10 a.m. (when the sun is the brightest) the sun shines through a passageway and illuminates an engraving on the wall called the Triple Spiral, drawn to celebrate the arrival of the sun.

4) In Norse mythology, Balder, the god of the summer sun, was killed by an arrow made of a now popular Christmas leaf. The leaf was Misteltoe.

It's mistletoe. Loki, the god of evil, made an arrow out of mistletoe and gave it to Hoder, the god of winter. It was he who killed Balder. Frigga, Balder's, mother restored him and cried tears of joy that turned into berries on the mistletoe branch. She was so happy she kissed everyone who passed under the tree.

5) Many of the traditions associated with Christmas actually come from the pagan worship of the Winter Solstice. Sigillaria, the Roman holiday after Saturnalia involves the custom of giving presents.

 

To celebrate Sigillaria, the Romans would give their children gifts of earthenware (sigillaria), rings, and seals. Often times, their homes would be decorated with green plants.

Information found HERE on these facts of Winter Solstice.