Don Hite at myITforum.com

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

Following the Roman conquest in 43 AD, the celebration of Samhain began to incorporate elements of Pomona, the Roman celebration of the harvest. Foods served during this feast included apples and nuts.

Halloween is a relatively new holiday in the United States with the first major celebrations taking place in Anoka, Minnesota in 1921. This was followed by New York in 1923 and Los Angeles in 1925.

Halloween also is recognized as the 3rd biggest party day after New Year's and Super Bowl Sunday.

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 and northern France. It has its roots in the feast of Samhain, which took place on 31 October each year to honor the dead.

In the United States, 86% of Americans decorate their homes for Halloween.

Legendary magician Harry Houdini died in Detroit from a ruptured appendix on Halloween in 1926.

More than 93 percent of children go trick-or-treating each year.

People have believed for centuries that light keeps away ghosts and ghouls. Making a pumpkin lantern with a candle inside may keep you safe from all the spooky spirits flying around on Halloween.

The Americans also began the use of pumpkins for lanterns, as they were more freely available than turnips in the US.

The carving of jack-o'-lanterns originated from the tradition of carving the faces of lost souls into hollowed out pumpkins and turnips. A candle was placed inside the carvings making the faces glow. The Halloween lanterns were placed on doorsteps to ward off evil spirits.

The original Halloween film directed by John Carpenter in 1978 cost just $320,000 to make. It ended up making over $50m worldwide.

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 US was also responsible for the practice of ‘Trick or Treating’ which is said to represent the fairies who went begging door-to-door on Samhain. Those who gave food were rewarded whilst those who refused to help would be in for a hard winter.

The world's fastest time to carve a face into a pumpkin is 54.72 seconds, by Stephen Clarke (USA), on October 23, 2001 (source: Guinness World Records)

There were estimated 36.8 million potential "trick-or-treaters" ages 5-13.

To further appease wandering spirits, large bonfires were lit and Celtic priests would offer sacrifices of crops and animals make charms and cast spells.

Trick-or-treating is thought to have its origins in a European custom called souling where people would beg for "soul cakes."

Don Hite (Yes that’s me!) began working for IBM on October 31^st.

More Resources:

History Of Halloween From Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

History and folklore of Halloween

http://www.answers.com/topic/history-and-folklore-of-halloween