13 Fascinating Facts You Didn't Know About Halloween

Updated on 10/31/2017 at 2:20 PM

POPSUGAR Photographer | Sheila Gim

Hold onto your witch hats — Halloween is not what you think it is. We found some interesting facts about the holiday that totally shocked us. Learn about the history, treats, and weird superstitions that make up All Hallows' Eve.

The first jack-o'-lanterns were made out of potatoes and turnips.

In Scotland and Ireland, they would carve faces into potatoes and turnips and put them in the window. In England, they would use beets.

We dress up on Halloween because of the Celts' ancient practices.

Samhain, an ancient Celtic holiday, was a day used to establish the end of the harvest season and the beginning of wintertime. They believed the transition made a bridge to the world of the dead, so they wore costumes to keep the evil spirits away.

Bobbing for apples was originally a British courting ritual.

Each apple represented a potential suitor, and the bobber would try to bite the apple of the guy she liked. If it only took one try, it was fate, but the more tries it took, the more likely their love wouldn't last.

Halloween is the second-biggest commercial holiday in America.

Christmas comes in first, of course. Americans are expected to spend $9.1 billion on Halloween this year.

Kids originally had to dance in order to get their treat.

Trick-or-treaters in Scotland and Ireland used to do something called guising — it means they would sing a song, choreograph a dance, or tell a joke in order to get candy.

Halloween is not the only night that witches celebrate.

Other holidays include Beltane, which marks the first day of May, and Midsummer's Eve, which coincides with the Summer solstice.

Every Halloween, 600 million pounds of candy is sold in America.

Ninety million pounds of that is chocolate every year.

Orange and black are Halloween colors for a reason.

Orange symbolizes harvest season. Black symbolizes death and the end of the Summer.

The most popular costume of 2017 is an action superhero.

For children that is. A witch is the most popular costume for adults.

Jelly Belly has been making candy corn longer than any other company.

Yes, the company that makes your favorite jellybeans has been making candy corn since 1898.

America produces about 15 billion pounds of pumpkins every year.

But pumpkins originally come from Central America.

Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.

People who have samhainophobia usually are afraid to celebrate Halloween or wear a costume due to their extreme fear.

There is a common Halloween superstition about spiders.

If you see a spider on Halloween night, it means that the spirit of a dead loved one is looking out for you.