bubblebum’s horrible halloween histories

Halloween is one of the most celebrated nights of the year, with people all around the world taking part in this spooky night. These days Halloween conjures up images of Kids trick or treating dressed up as little witches, vampires or werewolves. But Halloween has much more to it than that, so we’ve decided to give you our own Horrible History of Halloween…

• It is believed that Halloween comes from the Celtic harvest festivals and was mixed in with the Christian festival of “All Hallows Eve”.
• The term for those who have a fear of Halloween is known as Samhainophobia. It is the only holiday phobia in medical Literature and is believed to be named after the Gaelic Festival of Samhain which marked the end of the harvest season.
• The colours of Halloween are Black and Orange. Black represents death while Orange represents the harvest.
• The fear of black cats bringing bad luck comes from the belief that witches could turn themselves into black cats. So by seeing one she could put a spell on you…
• The Halloween Costume started out as a way to mimic the evil spirits who were said to roam the streets on All Hallows Eve.
• For those of you who want to meet a witch legends say that all you have to do is wear your clothes inside out and walk backwards on Halloween night…
• Jack-O-Lantern is the term for a carved out Pumkin or Turnip which holds a candle or light. It was named after the strange phenomenon of lights flickering over peat bogs called will-o-the-wisp or Jack-o-Lanterns.