Halloween is always celebrated on 31 October.

Halloween is one of the oldest celebrations in the world, dating back over 2000 years to the time of the Celts who lived in Britain

Halloween is also know by other names:
All Hallows Eve
Samhain
All Hallowtide
The Feast of the Dead
The Day of the Dead

Halloween in Welsh is 'Nos Calan Gaeaf'.

Halloween is correctly spelt as Hallowe’en.

When Christianity came to England and the rest of Europe, 1 November became All Saints Day - a day dedicated to all those saints who didn't have a special day of their own. They performed a mass called 'All hallows mass' and the night before became known as All Hallows E'en and eventually Hallowe’en or Halloween.

When the Romans conquered England, they merged Samhain with their own festivals, a harvest festival called Poloma, and a celebration for the dead called Feralia.

In Mexico, they celebrate El Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead starting the evening of October 31.

It is thought that the colours orange and black became Halloween colours because orange is associated with harvests (Halloween marks the end of harvest) and black is associated with death.

Black cats were originally believed to protect witches' powers from negative forces.

A pumpkin is really a squash, and comes from the same family as the cucumber.

About 99% of pumpkins sold are used as Jack O' Lanterns at Halloween.

The biggest pumpkin in the world tipped the scales at a whopping 1,446 pounds. This gigantic gourd was weighed in October 2004 at a pumpkin festival in Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada.

The record for the fastest pumpkin carver in the world is Jerry Ayers of Baltimore, Ohio. He carved a pumpkin in just 37 seconds!

The very first jack o' lantern was made out of hollowed out turnips.

Ringing a bell scares evil spirits away.

If you see a spider on this night, it could be the spirit of a dead loved one who is watching you.

To meet a witch, put your clothes on inside out and walk backwards on Halloween night.

Top Tips for Halloween

If your pumpkin lantern shrivels up, you can restore it by soaking it overnight in water to re hydrate it.