10 kid-impressing Halloween facts

Halloween is a time for candy, decorations, pumpkins and play! But do you know how much candy the average person consumes on Halloween every year? Ever wondered why we take our kids trick-or-treating?

We have all of your most interesting Halloween did-you-knows right here! 

Like most Halloween rituals, trick-or-treating evolved from the old Celtic tradition of putting out food to appease spirits roaming the streets on Samhaim, a festival marking the Celtic new year. 

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The origins of Halloween date back over 2,000 years! The Celtic people of Europe would celebrate "Samhain" (pronounced sah-win), their equivalent to New Year's Day on November 1. 

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Ancient Welsh and Celtic traditions dictate that the dead visit the living on Halloween. Masks worn on October 31st are intended to keep visiting spirits of the dead from recognizing the living. 

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Contrary to the North American tradition, white cats are actually believed to be bad luck in the UK. 

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Holy moly! Nearly one billion pounds of pumpkins are produced annually in the United States.

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The record for the biggest pumpkin in the world is held by Ron Wallace of Rhode Island; weighing in at an alarming 2,009 pounds. 

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After Christmas, Halloween is the second-highest commercial grossing holiday.

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Consumer spending for Halloween averages out to $7 billion per year! The average amount spent on candy and decorations per household is $20 respectively. But those are not the only expenses that will give your wallet a scare. Costumes prices average out to $26.50 per person.

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The average North American consumes about 25 pounds of candy each year. Over 10 percent of annual candy sales happen the days leading up to Halloween -- amount to nearly $2 billion in sales. 

Additionally, approximately 600 million pounds of candy is purchased in America every year for Halloween. 

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It's no secret that your kids love chocolate! $1.2 billion dollars of chocolate sales later, chocolate accounts for a whopping 63 percent of Halloween candy sales each year. 

What types of candy made this year's top-sellers list? Candy corn ranks number one, followed by Snickers, Reese's, Kit Kat and M&Ms. 

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