Next: 31 Oct 2026
Halloween
Orange and black: pumpkins and firelight against the dark, with ghost white, purple and slime green added later.
The colours of Halloween
Halloween is the eve of All Saints' Day, and it grew from Samhain, the old Irish and Scottish festival of the end of harvest, when the dead were thought to walk. Its two colours tell that story. Orange is the harvest and the fire: autumn leaves, bonfires, and the pumpkin, which Irish emigrants in America carved in place of the turnip lanterns of home. Black is the long night, death, and the things that move in the dark: cats, bats, witches' cloaks. The pairing was fixed by American printed decorations in the early twentieth century. White for ghosts and bones came with it. Purple and bright green were added by sweet makers and film in more recent decades.
#F4781FPumpkin orangeJack-o’-lanterns, autumn leaves and firelight.#111111Midnight blackNight, death, cats and bats.#F8F8FFGhost whiteGhosts, bones and cobwebs.#5E2A84Witch purpleA modern addition for magic.#7AC143Slime greenA modern addition for monsters and potions.Values are fair approximations, not official shades.
Read about the colours
Also part of it, and being written: Orange (Harvest and fire.), Shades of orange (Includes pumpkin.).
Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Halloween" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.