Fact or Fiction: Halloween was originally a Celtic holiday celebrated on October 31.

Fact: The ancient Celts celebrated the new year on November 1, the beginning of winter. Summer's end (Samhain) was celebrated immediately before on October 31. Celtic priests, the Druids, established the night of October 31 as a gathering time for the spirits of death and evil. (Barth, 1972, p. 79)

Fact or Fiction: Trick-or-treating is a modern Halloween custom.

Fiction: Silver Ravenwolf (2000) explains: "We find the original source of trick-or-treating in the Celtic practice of leaving special food as an offering to the dead, much like the Mexican ofrenda. The practice of going from house to house is not a new one at all . . House-begging on Halloween became the norm throughout the original Celtic territories. Some historical accounts say that only children practiced house-begging, but other references indicate that adults participated as well. It is from these house to house visits, involving laughter, song, and general revelry, that we have the birth of the American practice of trick-or-treating, the American Halloween parade, and costuming for both of these events." (p. 42)

Fact or Fiction: Turnips and beets served as the original jack-o'-lanterns.

Fact: In Ireland and Scotland children would hollow out large turnips, carve faces on them and place candles inside to scare away evil spirits at night. Once immigrants arrived in America, they found pumpkins more plentiful and used them instead.

Fact or Fiction: According to folklore, the jack-o'-lantern got his name from a man named Jack.

Fact: Rosemary Ellen Guilley (2001) recounts that "According to folklore, the jack-o'-lantern got it's name from a ne'er-do-well man named jack, who had a run-in with the Devil. Jack thwarted the Devil several times when claiming his soul, but the Devil had the last laugh. When Jack died, he could not get into heaven because of his mean ways in life. He went to the gates of hell, but the Devil wouldn't let him in, either. Instead, the Devil tossed out a piece of coal to help Jack find his way in the dark. Jack put the coal in a turnip, and the lantern serves as his light in his eternal wanderings about the earth."

Fact or Fiction: The "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" tradition began in Houston in 1967.

Fiction: The "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" tradition began in Philadelphia in 1950 with a youth group who collected $17 in decorated milk cartons on Halloween to help children overseas. Since then, the program has raised more than $115 million and grown to encompass the entire United States. For more information on this year's campaign, visit www.unicefusa.org/trickortreat.

Fact or Fiction: Valentine's Day is the top candy holiday.

Fiction: According to the National Confectioners Association and Chocolate Manufacturers Association, Halloween is the top candy holiday. Sales (in dollars) for 2001 for Halloween were 1 billion, 983 million. Other top candy holidays, in order, are Easter (1 billion, 856 million), the Winter Holidays (1 billion, 431 million), and Valentine's Day (1 billion, 59 million).

Fact or Fiction: Chicago is home to the first Halloween community festival.

Fiction: Independence, Kansas lays claim to this title with their Neewollah (Halloween spelled backwards) festival which premiered in 1918 and has been held at intervals since then. In 1920 Anoka, Minnesota began their Halloween festival and they've been holding it annually ever since. The Village Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village, NY is a relative new comer, premiering in 1973 and organized by mask maker and puppeteer Ralph Lee.

Fact or Fiction: Halloween was banned during World War II.