Top 10 Interesting Halloween facts for educators, teachers and students 🎃
With the Halloween season in full swing, everyone's gearing up for a night of costumes, candy, and fun. But there’s more to this spooky holiday than just trick-or-treating. While researching engaging material for teachers and students, I stumbled upon some fascinating statistics and peculiar facts that paint Halloween in a whole new light. Here are 10 Halloween facts that will surprise educators and students alike about this beloved American tradition.
1. Billions on Halloween candy? That’s just the start!
Halloween proves itself as a heavyweight in the commercial holiday lineup, with Americans spending over $8 billion on the celebration annually. Of that staggering amount, around $2.6 billion is solely on candy alone! Nearly over 4 billion is spent on Halloween costume as well! Why not include this question in an interactive Halloween quiz here?
2. Halloween activities boosts student engagement
Similar to Valentine's Day where teachers receive the most cards, Halloween also puts educators in a unique position. Many teachers will incorporate Halloween-themed activities into their class plans, with 70% of educators reporting that incorporating holidays like Halloween into curriculum positively affects student engagement.
3. The largest costume party celebration
In the United States, nearly 70% of people plan to celebrate Halloween, with costumes ranging from the spooky to the whimsical. Pets are also part of the celebration, with Americans spending roughly $560 million on Halloween costumes for their pets. Many colleges and universities around the world also run their own Halloween themed events contributing massively to the occassion.
4. The history of Halloween
Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, and 26% of teachers use this historical background to engage students in lessons about different cultural practices and their origins.
5. Thousands of haunted horror attractions
The United States boasts around 2,700 professional haunted attractions, 300 theme parks with horror-focused events, and over 3,000 home-based haunted houses each year. Many University students enjoy these thriller events with horror mazes and even drive through scare parks becoming a more popular thing!
6. Chocolate remains the supreme treat
Among all the Halloween treats, chocolate candies take the top position, comprising about 72% of all Halloween candy sales. If you're planning to share some gifts with your students or even as a prize for a halloween quiz, then you can't go wrong with a chocolate treat!
7. Jack-o'-Lanterns were originally made from turnips
The iconic jack-o'-lantern, a staple of Halloween décor, has its roots in an Irish myth about a man named Stingy Jack. Legend has it that after tricking the devil, Jack was doomed to roam the earth, illuminating his way with a carved turnip lamp. Immigrants brought this tale to the United States, where pumpkins, being plentiful and easier to carve, became the vegetable of choice. This fun fact can spark discussions in classes about folklore and agricultural practices across different cultures.
8. The highest-grossing Halloween-themed movie of all time!
The Halloween movie with the biggest box office is the 2018 installment of the "Halloween" franchise, which grossed over $260 million dollars. This movie is part of a long-standing horror franchise that began in 1978, and the 2018 release served as a direct sequel to the original film, ignoring the continuity of previous sequels. The franchise's enduring popularity and the return of Jamie Lee Curtis helped propel this movie to become the highest-grossing Halloween-themed movie of all time.
9. Pumpkin sales skyrocket 🎃
Over 1 billion pounds of pumpkin are produced in the U.S. annually, with a significant portion used for Halloween. That is a lot of pumpkin carving!
10. A growing celebration!
About 65% of Americans plan to celebrate Halloween each year. Over 180 million people in the USA celebrated Halloween in recent years, specifically in 2020. This illustrates the widespread popularity and participation in Halloween festivities across the United States, encompassing activities such as trick-or-treating, dressing up in costumes, carving pumpkins, and attending or hosting events.
Why not run your own interactive Halloween quiz for your students, friends or family?
Halloween offers a perfect blend of fun, culture, commerce, and education that can be leveraged in classrooms across the country. As educators, tapping into the holiday’s rich history and current traditions can provide a lively, enriching experience that students are unlikely to forget.
If you’re looking to create quizzes or engaging projects around Halloween facts for your class, considering the depth and breadth of Halloween’s historical and economic impacts might make for a deeply engaging session! And who knows, you might discover something spooky and exciting in the process... why not be inspired to create your interactive Halloween quiz with Vevox to run with your students?
Happy Halloween! 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
