The observance of Halloween, which dates back to Celtic rituals thousands of years ago, has long been associated with images of witches, black cats, ghosts, devils, hobgoblins, and grinning Jack O' Lanterns, and in recent decades with haunted houses, vampires, mummies, and other undead.

In the United States, the first official citywide Halloween celebration occurred in Anoka, Minn., in 1921. Over the years, Halloween customs and rituals have changed dramatically. For example, in the 1950s and 1960s, Halloween costumes were plastic aprons and masks that fit over clothing. Today, most costumes are made of fabric or handmade.

Young trick-or-treaters delight in going door-to-door to ask for candy or treats and to see if their neighbors can recognize them behind their costumes. From the days of Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow, written over three centuries ago, Halloween parties, pumpkins and good-natured frights have been part of the holiday season.

Halloween has become big business. The National Retail Federation says Americans will spend nearly $5 billion on Halloween this year. That's up nearly 51 percent from 2005.

Here are some trivia treats about Halloween, courtesy of the U.S. Census.

• There are 108 million occupied housing units across the nation which are each potential stops for "trick-or-treaters."

• The number of trick-or-treaters from ages 5 to 13 were 36.1 million in 2005, a decline of about 284,000 from 2004. Of course, many other children -- older than 13, and younger than age 5 -- also go trick-or-treating.

• About 1,241 U.S. manufacturing establishments produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2004, employing 43,322 people and shipping $12.5 billion worth of goods. California led the nation in the number of chocolate and cocoa manufacturing establishments, with 136, followed by Pennsylvania, with 122.

• About 515 U.S. establishments manufactured nonchocolate confectionary products in 2004. These establishments employed 22,234 people and shipped $7.2 billion worth of goods that year. California also led the nation in this category, with 76 establishments.

• The per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2005 is about 26 pounds, and it is believed a large portion of that candy is consumed around Halloween.

• Need to rent a costume? There were about 2,497formal wear and costume rental establishments across the nation in 2004.

And what would Halloween be without pumpkins? Jack O' Lanterns and pumpkin pies consumed about 1.1 billion pounds of the total production of major pumpkin-producing states in 2005. Illinois led the country by producing 497 million pounds of the vined orange gourd. Pumpkin patches in California, Ohio and Pennsylvania also provided lots of pumpkins: each state produced at least 100 million pounds. The value of all pumpkins produced by major pumpkin-producing states was $106 million.

Happy Halloween from Realty Times!

Published: October 31, 2006

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.