As the fall season approaches each year, one of the holidays that many people look forward to is Halloween. Aside from the candy and the pumpkins, there are a few interesting facts that you might not realize about Halloween. When trick-or-treating first started in Europe before making a move to the United States, kids had to dance for the candy that they received. Sometimes, they didn’t even get candy after dancing. They would get apples and other fresh fruits. Early Roman Halloween traditions included people wearing animal skins to try to reach the spirits of family members who had died.
Although most jack-o’-lanterns are made from pumpkins, the early Halloween decorations were made from turnips, beets, and other fresh vegetables and fruits. Faces were carved on these items using sticks and other natural objects instead of the knives and the variety of carving tools that are used today. Black cats are sometimes associated with Friday the 13, but there have been a few rituals involving black cats on Halloween. Many adoption shelters around the country won’t allow people to adopt black cats in order to keep them safe. Some shelters extend this practice and won’t allow anyone to adopt black cats during the entire month of October.