Learn some Fun Halloween Facts For Kids of all ages! We're sharing the history of the holiday along with some other fun trivia questions and interesting facts.
These fun Halloween facts are a great way to understand the history of Halloween as well as share some great Halloween trivia at your Halloween party!
Halloween falls within the Autumn season in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Spring season in the Southern Hemisphere.
There is all kinds of Halloween fun for kids including a number of crafts, games, coloring pages, and art projects
Before we jump right in, you will not want to miss our October Fun Facts and our 365+ Fun Facts For Kids
Want to save this project?
Enter your email below, and then we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus get awesome new projects from us each week.
When is Halloween
Halloween is on October 31st every year all over the world. Most celebrations happen on Halloween night. Kids take to the streets and go from door to door saying trick-or-treat in exchange for a piece of candy or small token.
Why Do We Celebrate Halloween?
The history of Halloween dates back more than 2,000 years to an ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. This was a pagan holiday to mark the end of summer and the beginning of the Celtic New Year. The festival was held on November 1st.
The Celtic people were made up of areas of Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Northern France. They believed that with Summer’s end and the day of Samhain, the souls of the dead would return to their homes on that day. In order to protect themselves and their families, people would dress up in costumes and light fires in order to scare the evil spirits away.
The Christian holidays of All Saints’ Day (or All Hallows Day) on November 1st and All Souls Day (Day of the Dead) on November 2nd were established. They were established by the Catholic Church during the eighth century, This was The day before then became known as Hallowe'en, All Hallowe'en, All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Eve, All Hallows Eve, and ultimately Halloween.
While Halloween is now one of the most popular holidays in North America, it didn't start out that way. It wasn't until the 18th century that the Irish started the tradition of Halloween that we see today. It was at that time America saw a large influx of Irish immigrants to the United States escaping the potato famine.
Halloween Facts For Kids
- Halloween is the second most celebrated holiday in the US, next to Christmas,
- Spiders are good luck when seen on Halloween night.
- Crossing paths with a black cats on Halloween is considered bad luck
- Trick or Treating has been around since medieval times.
- Orange and black are the traditional colors of Halloween. Orange represented the time of year with the harvest season and falling leaves. The black symbolizes darkness.
- Hocus Pocus is one of the most popular movies during Halloween. Check that off the Top Family Halloween Movies Checklist
- The president of the United States hands out candy every year.
- Over 35 million people go trick-or-treating each year.
- Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.
- The word witch comes from the Old English word "wicca" and "wicce"
- Chinese Halloween celebrations are called "Festival of the Hungry Ghosts".
Halloween Fun Facts That You Will Only Find in the US
- New Hampshire has a Halloween Theme Park
- "Beggars Night" is the night before Halloween in Des Moines, Iowa. Similar to Trick-or-Treating, kids are required to tell a joke or show a trick in order to get a treat!
- It is illegal to wear any costume that covers your face in Dublin, Georgia, Walnut Creek, California, and Belleville, Illinois
- Hollywood, California prohibits silly string on Halloween.
- It is illegal to wear a priest or nun costume in the state of Alabama.
- New York City holds the largest Halloween parade.
- It is against the law for anyone over the age of 14 to "trick-or-treat" in Chesapeake Virginia.
- In Rehoboth Beach, Delaware it is illegal to celebrate Halloween on a Sunday. They must move their trick-or-treat plans to Saturday if October 31st is on a Sunday.
- City of Keene in New Hampshire, holds the record for the most lit jack-o-lanterns on display in one night with 30,581 pumpkins.
Fun Facts About Halloween Candy
- Candy Corn was first named Chicken Feed. Candy corn was first made by the Goelitz Confectionery Company which is now the Jelly Belly Co.
- The preferred Halloween candy is chocolate.
- According to the National Retail Federation, Americans spend over 3 Billion dollars a year on candy.
- Kids eat almost 7000 calories worth of candy at Halloween. This is equivalent to 3 cups of sugar and would need to walk 181 miles in order to walk it off. Eeek!
- The three most popular candies over the last 15 years are (Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Skittles, and M&Ms, according to CandyStore.com
Halloween Costume Fun Facts
- The people who dressed up for the festival of Samhain were the first to wear Halloween costumes.
- The most popular costumes for kids are Superheroes (Spiderman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman), Princesses, Witches, Ghosts, and Pumpkins.
- Americans spend over $3.5 Billion dollars a year on costumes.
There are lots of different varieties of costumes for kids. Some are scary costumes (witches, ghosts, and zombies). Others are some of the people they look up to (police, firefighters, athletes, etc.). There are always costumes of their favorite characters from TV, movies, and video games too.
Of course, there are also creative DIY costumes too. My favorite! Whatever they are, it's just a matter of having fun.
Pumpkin Facts For Kids
- Pumpkins are actually classified as a fruit and not a vegetable.
- A city in New Hampshire holds the Guinness world record for the most jack o’ lanterns.
- The Guinness World Record for the largest pumpkin and heaviest pumpkin is 1,226 kg (2,702 lb 13.9 oz).
- The fastest pumpkin carving record goes to Stephen Clarke who carved a pumpkin in just over 16 seconds.
- A turnip was the first carved jack-o' lantern.
- Jack o'lanterns received its name from an Irish legend named Stingy Jack
- By fooling the devil he was forced to walk the earth with only burning coal inside his carved turnip to light his way. His new name was Jack of the Lanterns.
Dia de los Muertos Facts
Although the Day of the Dead and Halloween share similar dates and involve costumes and celebrations, they have different cultural roots and meanings, with Halloween focusing on spooky themes and Dia de los Muertos honoring deceased loved ones in a more festive and colorful way."
Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a vibrant Mexican holiday celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, honoring deceased loved ones with colorful altars, marigold flowers, and traditional sugar skulls.
- Dia de los Muertos is all about bright and lively colors. People paint their faces like skulls, called "calaveras," and decorate them with vibrant marigold flowers and colorful papel picado (paper banners).
- Families create special altars, or "ofrendas," with pictures, favorite foods, and items that remind them of their loved ones who have passed away. It's like a special memorial just for them.
- Kids love making and eating sugar skulls, which are colorful, sweet treats molded into skull shapes. They're not spooky; they're delicious!
- Many people wear costumes and masks during Dia de los Muertos parades and celebrations. It's a bit like Halloween
- Dia de los Muertos is not a sad day. It's a joyful time to remember and celebrate the lives of those who have passed away. Families come together, tell stories, and honor their ancestors in a positive way.
Facts About Fall
- Fall, also known as autumn, is the season when Halloween takes place, with spooky costumes and trick-or-treating!
- The leaves change color in fall, creating a beautiful backdrop of red, orange, and yellow for Halloween festivities.
- Fall is the perfect time to carve pumpkins into Jack-o'-lanterns, a popular Halloween tradition.
- Many animals prepare for the winter during fall, just like how vampires and bats are often associated with Halloween.
- Fall brings cooler weather, making it the ideal season for enjoying cozy Halloween treats like hot apple cider and pumpkin pie!
Other Fun Halloween Activities
Halloween is such a fun time for the whole family. We have a bunch of different activities that are fabulous this Halloween.
- Halloween Crafts For Kids with over 50 different crafts (Bat Crafts, Ghost Crafts, Spider Crafts, Pumpkin Crafts, and more)
- Halloween Printables with over 50 different printable crafts, party decorations, and games. Halloween Scavenger Hunt, Halloween Bingo, You've Been Booed, and Halloween Charades are the most popular Halloween games.
- Free Halloween Coloring Pages - over 50 different free printable Halloween coloring pages.
- Halloween Activity Sheets For Kids full of crosswords, mazes, word search, and iSpy.
We highlighted these Holiday Facts along with some other fun kid's crafts in our October Crafts and October Holidays along with our 101+ Easy Craft Ideas for kids.
Download Free Halloween Facts Infographic
Enter your first name and email address to download the free Halloween Facts pdf file.
Happy Halloween!
CONNECT WITH MADE WITH HAPPY!
Be sure to follow me on social media, so you never miss a post!
Facebook | Twitter | Youtube | Pinterest | Instagram
Find and shop my favorite products in my Amazon storefront here!
HALLOWEEN FUN FACTS FOR KIDS
PIN IT TO YOUR DIY BOARD ON PINTEREST!
FOLLOW MADE WITH HAPPY ON PINTEREST FOR ALL THINGS HAPPY!
