Happy Halloween from AWG : 10 Fun Holiday Facts

Halloween on Friday, what a great way to end the week. American Workforce Group hopes everyone stays warm, has some laughs and is safe! Here are some fun facts about the holiday to get you in the spirit :

1. The largest pumpkin ever measured was grown by Norm Craven, who broke the world record in 1993 with a 836 lb. pumpkin.

2. Scarecrows, a popular Halloween fixture, symbolize the ancient agricultural roots of the holiday

3. In 2010, 72.2% of those surveyed by the National Retail Federation will hand out candy, 46.3% will carve a pumpkin, 20.8% will visit a haunted house, and 11.5% will dress up their pets

4. Halloween is thought to have originated around 4000 B.C., which means Halloween has been around for over 6,000 years.

5. Stephen Clarke holds the record for the world’s fastest pumpkin carving time: 24.03 seconds

6. Samhainophobia is the fear of Halloween.

7. Candy makers supposedly lobbied to extend daylight savings time into the beginning of November to get an extra hour of daylight so children could collect even more candy.

8. Candy corn has been made with the same recipe by the Jelly Belly Candy Company since around 1900

9. Both Salem, Massachusetts, and Anoka, Minnesota, are the self-proclaimed Halloween capitals of the world.

10. In Alabama its illegal to dress like a priest