Halloween Fun Facts

It’s almost Halloween! And boy, does the weather feel like it. Leaves are falling. Snow is falling. The amount of candy I’m consuming is not falling. But, tis the season – right? This year, Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31st and (in true 2020 fashion) there will be a full moon! I was curious what this season looked like for different people, and how it has (or hasn’t) changed over time. I wanted to know some random fun facts about Halloween – so I asked our Random Fun Fact Guy –> Will!

Will has been a technician here for almost a year and a half now, and in that timeframe he has shared numerous random fun facts. So I knew he would have a few about Halloween! Even though he is someone who has “grown out of candy” (which I’m not sure how that’s even possible), we still had a great conversation about the season and I learned a few things along the way. Here’s a little bit of what we talked about!

History of Halloween

First, I should warn you *asterisks* we are in no way experts on the matter so feel free to fact check to your heart’s content. That being said, here’s Will on how Halloween got started over 2,000 years ago:

“So, as far as what I know* it actually started as a Keltic holiday and is called Samhain (pronounced Sam Wayne). It’s very similar to Halloween today except it was usually celebrated October 30th – November 1st. A lot of it is the same; going house to house, dressing up as monsters…and I believe there was some sort of an exchange. The whole idea was to push away spirits, like you’re expelling them.”

That really surprised me to learn that the core structure of the holiday hasn’t changed much. We just added more candy, thank goodness. Will mentions that with the intense purpose behind the original holiday, the costumes were much more intense as well:

“If you want to talk about traditional Samhain get-ups, it’s way freakier than what you would get at Spirit Halloween.”

Different Cultural Celebrations

Living in modern day America gives us a similar sense of what Halloween looks like. Kids dressing up, trick-or-treating, and eating way too much candy. Adults dressing up, having parties, and still eating way too much candy. But – that’s not how everyone around the world celebrates. Will highlights a well-known celebration that many European and Latin American countries participate in:

“One of the more famous ones, at least here in North America, would be…Day of The Dead. This is a three-day celebration*. Instead of scaring away evil spirits, you are actually welcoming them in. It’s about celebrating life actually, even though it’s about the dead.”

This celebration includes a variety of festivities, traditions, and lots of color! Rather than the dark and mysterious tone that your typical Halloween has, the Day of The Dead is one filled with joy and excitement. The true purpose is to re-connect the living with the dead and have an overarching celebration of life. “It’s all about welcoming them back into your life to celebrate with you.” For a fun, animated way to experience what the Day of The Dead is like – I recommend watching the movie Coco, it’s a good one!

Modern Day Halloween

As we talked about earlier, the basic structure of Halloween hasn’t changed all that much over the past 2,000 years. It has, however, become a bit more kid-friendly and the costume and candy manufacturers love it. Last year, nearly $9 billion was spent on the holiday which included over 170 million Americans who celebrated it. Costumes and candy are the top culprits, but you can also throw in some pumpkin patches and haunted houses in which people spend their Halloween dollars at. Will talks about some things to do in the Kansas City Metro area specifically, which includes three infamous haunted houses:

“We are known for having three really good haunted houses here in KC. There is the Macabre Cinema (closed for this season), The Beast and The Edge of Hell. I have been to all three…once, to each. They are fun! I definitely recommend if you are in the KC area and – tis the season for Halloween – to check it out. It’s some good fun.”

Will recommends first-timers go to the Macabre Cinema as it’s a bit less intense. I, myself have gone through the other two and – let’s just say you get your money’s worth! Located in downtown KC, these haunted houses are in giant, old, otherwise abandoned, brick warehouses. That in itself is enough to scare me into going back for more.

And, of course you can’t leave out World’s of Fun. They go all out for Halloween, holding back nothing. Sadly, they are closed this season but can spook dollars right out of your pocket in 2021! You can hear Will’s story of his sister getting chased out of a corn maze by a clown and how he was followed through one of the haunted houses on our next episode of Between Two Tablets. Trust me, it’s worth the listen.

TCS Halloween Celebration

This Friday, our TCS Office is celebrating Halloween with, none other than, a costume contest! Be sure to follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram) to see all of our costumes and help pick the winners! Whatever or however you choose to celebrate this season –  we hope you stay safe, have fun, and enjoy!

Happy ~almost~ Halloween,
Bonny

*We are not experts on the topic and only sharing fun information about the season.

Check out our recent blogs about Habits, Names, and JNUC!