Trick or Treat - Happy Halloween!

It's that time of year again...

Rushing around trying to find the perfect costumes, buying candy for all the little trick-or-treaters, and baking lots of goodies for halloween parties. Once this is all done the chaos turns in to parents rushing their kids door-to-door to fill their bags and buckets full of candy before their bed time. However, this seems to be all people really know of Halloween - ring a doorbell and get candy. There's more to the holiday than that.

The orange-and-black holiday originated in a country known for green, Ireland. This holiday celebration was brought over to North America by immigrants from Europe who would share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes around a bonfire. Jack-o-lanterns weren't always carved in to pumpkins, turnips were originally used in an attempt to keep away spirits and ghosts. There is still so much more to know about this holiday, so test your knowledge below!

Think you know everything about Halloween?...Test your knowledge!

(Answers below...don't cheat!)

1. True or False: Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America.

2. Halloween candy sales average ____ in the US each year.

         a.3 million   b. 2 billion   c. 100 million   d. 5 million

3. Halloween ranks second to which holiday when it comes to commercial success?

         a. Christmas   b. Thanksgiving   c. 4th of July   d. New Year's Eve

4. True or False: Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green

5. The most popular candy given is _____.

         a. gum   b. suckers   c. gummi/chewy candies   d. chocolate

6. ______ is the number 1 U.S. city for trick-or-treating.

         a. Chicago   b. Nashville   c. San Francisco   d. New York

7. According to the National Confectioner’s Association, more than ____ pounds of candy corn will be produced this year.

         a. 10,000   b. 35 million   c. 100,000   d. 1 billion

8. True or False: In the United States, the first citywide celebration was in Anoka, Minnesota.

9. ___% of parents admit to sneaking goodies from their kids’ Halloween trick-or-treat bags.

         a. 90   b. 75   c. 40   d.25

10. According to superstition, if you stare into a mirror at midnight on Halloween, what will you see?

         a. bloody mary   b. your future spouse   c. your death   d. dead ancestors

Answers: 1. True, 2. b. 2 billion, 3. a. Christmas, 4. True, 5. d. chocolate, 6. c. San Francisco, 7. b. 35 million, 8. True, 9. a. 90, 10. b. your future spouse