A few days ago, I discussed trick or treating and mentioned an article I had recently read claiming that the practice only became popular due to a 1951 Peanuts comic strip. I indicated that just didn’t seem right to me because I remember trick or treating from when I was very small.
Well, I went back and re-read the article and threw in a little extensive research to boot, and I’ve decided that the Peanuts cartoon theory of popularizing trick or treating may have some merit….
When I was young, I remember some Halloween pranks getting a little out of hand and, certainly today, would be classified as vandalism.
History suggests that excessive mischief and pranks on Halloween led to widespread adoption of an organized, community-based trick or treating tradition in the 1930s.
That trend was abruptly curtailed, however, with the outbreak of World War II, when sugar rationing meant there were few treats to hand out. At the height of the postwar baby boom, trick or treating reclaimed its place among other Halloween customs, and quickly became standard practice for millions of kids in America’s cities and newly built suburbs. Candy companies, no longer constrained by sugar rationing, capitalized on the lucrative ritual and launched national advertising campaigns specifically aimed at Halloween.
Before candy, the “treats” were, fruit or nuts, or maybe coins. So I suspect that the reference to the Peanuts cartoon was referring more to the increase in the popularity of candy rather than the practice of trick or treating.
But I guess it just wouldn’t be Halloween without Linus and the Peanut gang — waiting for the Great Pumpkin…. I suppose I should end this right now — Linus always said, “There are three things I’ve learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.”
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