Halloween is, without a doubt, my absolute favourite time of year. This is arguably related to the fact that Fall is my favourite season, and I have absolutely no shame in admitting I prefer Halloween to Christmas (no insult intended, Jesus). I don’t exactly know why, but I have always loved Halloween; if I had to take a stab in the dark as to what the driving force behind my love for all things creepy is, I suspect it might have to do with the fact that I’m simply a weird fuck.
Moving along, I don’t simply love all things spooky about this time of year. I have wonderful memories of going trick-or-treating with my cousins and friends as a kiddo, and I hope to share the same memories with my own kiddos one day. I recall having an absolute blast and returning home with a pillowcase full of chocolate, chips, pop, candy, and the odd, incredibly hopeful apple.
I thought it might be fun to write a couple of posts about some Halloween facts and such to celebrate spooky season; the following information comes from today.com.
“A Small Minnesota City is Believed to Have Hosted the First Halloween Parade(:) Have you ever heard of Anoka, Minnesota? The city of roughly 17,000 residents is home to what’s believed to be the very first Halloween parade hosted in 1920. Known as the ‘Halloween Capital of the World,’ Anoka still celebrates the holiday each year with a house-decorating contest, 5K run and three Halloween parades.
“California is the Biggest Candy Producer in the U.S.(:) Home to dozens of candy-producing companies, California ranks first among all the states for producing the most candy in the U.S. Among them? Ghirardelli, Jelly Belly and Annabelle’s Candy Company, just to name a few. Given all its candy companies, it’s fair to say that California is the sweetest state in the country.
“The Pumpkin Capital of the U.S. Is in Illinois(:) Whether you’re making pumpkin muffins, bread or other pumpkin-inspired recipe in honor of Halloween, you may be curious to know where all that canned pumpkin comes from. The answer? The vast majority is produced in Morton, Illinois at the Libby’s Pumpkin canning plant, which accounts for roughly 75% of the country’s canned pumpkin.
“The Meaning Behind Black and Orange(:) According to the Library of Congress, black and orange are the colors of Halloween because the ancient Celts believed black symbolized the ‘death’ of summer and orange symbolized the fall harvest.
“‘Belsnickeling’ Might Have Preceded Trick-or-Treating(:) Imagine if instead of saying ‘trick-or-treat,’ kids rang the doorbell and shouted, ‘Belsnickel!’ According to the Library of Congress, the old German-American tradition of belsnickeling, a custom in which children dress up in costumes for Christmas and visit their neighbors, is one possible origin of modern-day trick-or-treating. As the tradition goes, during Christmas, kids would visit their neighbors in disguise and have them guess who lurked behind the masks. If they were wrong, they had to pony up treats. Sound familiar?” the web page states.
Check back tomorrow for more Halloween knowledge.
Photo by Beth Teutschmann on Unsplash
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