Kim Shorts: Smell my feet?

I know it’s a little early in October to be talking about Halloween, but hey, the stores started sugar-coating the shelves with Halloween candy in mid-August, so I think it’s okay to share some spooky history and facts now. Sort of get you in the spirit of it all …

While Halloween has only become a big commercial event in the past half-Century, it has an enthralling history in Canada.
 

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Friends waiting to greet the trick-or-treaters this year

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Halloween came to Canada in the 1800s with the Irish and Scottish immigrants who brought their Celtic traditions with them. I will point out that Halloween can be traced back to around 400 B.C. in Ireland where the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain marked the end of the harvest and beginning of winter. According to the history books, as was their tradition, the Celts wore costumes and lit bonfires during Samhain to ward off evil spirits.

As traditions evolved over time, these customs included the use of jack-o'-lanterns, initially carved from turnips, and the act of dressing in disguise.
 

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SPOOKY FACTS:
 

• In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, Halloween in cities like Edmonton, known appropriately as Canada’s “Festival City,” was characterized by pranking, costumes, and parties.
• The phrase "trick-or-treat" was first chronicled in the “Lethbridge Herald” in reference to Halloween festivities in Blackie, Alberta, in 1927. This Canadian-ism expression allowed the door-knockers to act like pranksters by having them demand treats from door-to-door.
• I’m guessing “smell my feet” followed soon after.
• With the lifting of sugar rations in the post-Second World War era, there was mass production of Halloween candy. This sweet move solidified trick-or-treating and contributed to Halloween's commercial growth world wide.
• In 2014, the Retail Council of Canada estimated that Halloween represented a screaming $1-billion industry in Canada, making it the country's second most commercially-successful holiday after Christmas.
• In 2022, it was recorded that the Canadian Halloween industry generated approximately $1.64-billion with projections indicating continued growth in spending on costumes, candy, and decorations.

AND SUGARY STATS:

According to Jeff Doucette in a 2024 Insights Report on "Scary Facts About Halloween in Canada,” Halloween was very popular with 86 per cent of Canadian households participating in Halloween celebrations in 2024 in one way or another. Additional information from the report, which surveyed 1,097 Canadian households in October, 2024, included the following bonbons:
 

• The most popular treat in Canada was chocolate which is given out by 70 per cent of households – although many households will give away more than one treat type.
• Just nine per cent of households said they would give out “healthy options” treats.
• 87 per cent of households had already started to shop for Halloween items (décor, costumes and treats) in early October. Heck, I didn’t wait that long! It was the plastic skeleton and dog that called to me.
• 81 per cent of Canadian households planned on buying Halloween treats but only 69 per cent of households will give out treats to trick-or-treaters. Okay, I’ll admit it … I’m in that group that has lots of candy left over. Someone’s got to eat it!

Besides I think we’re all a little scared of running out of candy to give out so some of us tend to get more than we need.



My husband, Jim, giving me a memorable 2024 Halloween morning greeting