Fa-boo-lous: Halloween and the Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular

BOO! 

Did I scare you? I didn’t think so :) 

October 31st is an infamous day not just in America, but all over the world. It’s Halloween, a holiday revered and celebrated on the four corners of the globe!

As you may very well know, Halloween is a time to dress up in silly, scary, or iconic costumes and walk from house to house yelling “trick-or-treat!”. It is a time to scare your friends and go to spooky haunted houses. It is the only time when asking for candy from a stranger is completely acceptable too!

Here are some fun facts to tell your friends! They’ll be so spooked by how many cool facts you know:

Here are some fun facts about Halloween that I bet you didn’t know!

Originally, the Celtic people wore masks to keep ghosts and spirits away who, they believed, would return during this time of the year. They believed the masks helped to trick the ghosts into believing they were ghosts as well. This is where people started dressing up in costumes.

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The very first Jack O’ Lanterns were made from turnips and not pumpkins

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Some people have a phobia (a very intense and irrational fear) of Halloween. It’s called “Samhainophobia”.

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The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed a staggering 836 pounds (380 kg.)

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The birthplace of Halloween is typically considered to be the country of Ireland.

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One creepy superstition that people used to believe was that if girls walked down stairs at midnight on Halloween and looked into a mirror, they would see the face of their future boyfriend or husband.

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Almost 73% of families in America hand out candy and other sweet treats on Halloween night.

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It is believed that Halloween began around the year 4,000 B.C. That means this holiday is almost 6,000 years old - That’s even older than Christmas!

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Another superstition that people believe is that a child born on Halloween has the power to talk to ghosts and spirits.

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Salem in the state of Massachusetts in the United States is considered to be the Halloween capital of the world because of the many claims that witches lived there during the 1600s.

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The largest Halloween parade is held in New York City with over 50,000 people participating or performing in the parade and over 2 million people watching.

The amount of candy that a child collects on Halloween contains almost 11,000 calories!

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Halloween is a very big holiday, but do you know about the Louisville Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular? 

This event began in 1988 in Oxford, Massachucetts and currently held from October to November in Louisville, Kentucky. 

In this event, there are nearly 5,000 carved pumpkins that line a walking trail of about ⅓ of a mile (½ km). Each pumpkin is carved with a unique expression and a unique design and then illuminated with candles to create a beautiful yet spooky walk. 

This event is so popular that it is considered the best Halloween attraction in the Midwest of the United States. Sometimes, you have to wait up to 2 hours in line to get to the trail!

This event is suitable for babies to 99-year-olds, so the entire family is welcome!


VOCABULARY:

Infamous: very famous, very well known

Revered: respected, known for it traits

“Four Corners of the Globe”: a saying that means everywhere (everywhere on Earth/the globe)

Iconic: representing an idol, image, well known hero, or popular emblem 

Acceptable: is okay to do/participate in 

Spirits: another name for ghosts

Jack O’ Lanterns: another name for carved pumpkins, many times used as Halloween decorations with a candle on the inside

Superstition: a belief that people in a culture believe may bring bad luck (example: knocking on wood to get rid of the “evil eye”)

Illuminated: to light up, sometimes through a candle

Supernatural: used to refer to something of another world (example: ghosts, spirits, demons, and monsters are all supernatural)


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Annik Brar is a student at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. studying International Affairs and Psychology. In her free time, she manages a support page for people with Type 1 Diabetes. She also loves photography and traveling and can speak Punjabi and Hindi fluently!


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