Tonight, Halloween will be celebrated all over the world – and even China is getting into the act. But while many people know of the festival’s existence, here are some fun facts that you may not know – about Halloween.

Tonight is Halloween night. (Source: www.artotelamsterdam.com)

1. Why orange and black is used during Halloween

While it is commonly known that the two colours associated with Halloween are orange and black, some people may not be aware of the reason for this.

This is because orange represents the harvest of autumn and black stands for the darkness that’s associated with the dying of the bright and vibrant summer season, and the arrival of the cold, dark winter season.

2. Carving faces into the jack-o-lantern

Why do people carve faces into pumpkins during Halloween? (Source: www.fanpop.com)

Jack-o-lanterns are also commonly associated with Halloween. But it has its origins in Celtic folk tales. A farmer called Jack was always playing pranks on the devil – so the devil punished him by condemning his soul to wander forever between heaven and hell – with no other possessions except a piece of burning coal.

Using that piece of coal, Jack then found a turnip and carved it into a lantern and inserted the coal inside. He then used this to help guide his wandering soul. However, in the 1800s, during the potato famine in the USA, turnips became hard to come by – so pumpkins were used as a replacement. Since then, people have been carving faces into pumpkins – to scare away evil spirits like Jack.

3. The reason for wearing Halloween costumes

People try to disguise themselves as evil spirits, so that the spirits will not recognise the living – and therefore not harm them.

4. Seeing spiders on Halloween night

Seeing spiders on Halloween night may not be a bad thing. (Source: www.chicaandjo.com)

Seeing spiders on Halloween night is actually a good thing – because it is believed that the spider is actually the spirit of a deceased loved one looking down on you and protecting you. So don’t chase them away!

5. A full moon usually doesn’t actually occur during Halloween

In Halloween movies and other horror shows featuring witches, vampires and werewolves and the likes, the full moon always seem to occur on Halloween night.

However, in reality this is far from the truth. In fact, the last full moon happening on Halloween night was in 2001. Before that, it took place as far back as 1955. The next one is projected to take place in 2020. So you don’t need to be scared of Dracula invading your Halloween party – for a while yet!

6. Harry Houdini passed away on Halloween night

World-renowned illusionist Harry Houdini passed away on Halloween night – after falling victim to appendicitis that had inflicted him after someone had punched him in the stomach, not once, not twice, but three times.

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