Quiz: Test Your Halloween History Knowledge with this Tricky Trivia

Of all the holidays on the calendar, Halloween offers the most pure fun. Kids—and adults—dressing up in creative costumes, homeowners decorating their front yard with giant Skellys, normally squeamish grown-ups voluntarily sticking their hands into carved pumpkins to pull out the stringy goo—what’s not to like? And let’s not forget haunted house attractions, pet costumes, and the piles of candy.

Halloween traditions are so ingrained in America that it’s easy to forget the holiday’s history as a pagan celebration marking the conclusion of the harvest, with rituals that were more Thanksgiving-like than spooky. And even fewer Americans may realize that our traditional Thanksgiving celebrations used be a lot more Halloweeny.

Halloween vs. Thanksgiving
Try Your Hand at Halloween Trivia

Halloween vs. Thanksgiving

According to the the 1873 book Old New England Traits by George Lunt, Thanksgiving eve used to be the night on which less-fortunate villagers went up to the homes of the better-off and asked for a bit to eat. Lunt writes:

“My mother was an excellent housekeeper, and we had plenty of the usual belongings of the festival, so eagerly looked forward to by the young, and something to bestow on others not so well supplied. It was the practice of some of this class to knock at the doors of those thought to be better off, on the evening before, begging ‘something for Thanksgiving’ … “

Rather problematically, the wealthy children in the village then began dressing up in rags and masks and knocking on their neighbors’ doors in the same manner. After Thanksgiving was established as a national holiday by President Abraham Lincoln, the dressing-up morphed into masquerade balls and costume parades where favors and treats were handed out. The tradition was discouraged during the Great Depression, however; the merriment shifted over to Halloween, and Thanksgiving took on a less hedonistic sheen.

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Try Your Hand at Halloween Trivia

That’s just one chapter in Halloween’s long and convoluted history. See how familiar you are with the holiday’s origins and legends in the quiz below.