Check your doorbell and be sure it’s working — it’ll get a workout tomorrow night. It’s Halloween and, of course, the night for trick or treaters.
Trick or treating has been around since the time of the Celts 2,000 years ago. Halloween was then known as Samhain, or the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter — the darker part of the year. Trick or treating began as what was called “mumming” or dressing up as a ghost or demon and acting like a fool for food and drinks. That tradition lasted until the ninth century.
After Christianity arrived in the Celtic lands, Christian customs mixed with old Pagan ones. November 2nd was known as “All Souls Day” back then and people would honor the dead with masquerades and bonfires. Some practiced “souling,” an early form trick or treating, where those without much money would visit the homes of the wealthy. The poor would ask for food in exchange for the promise they would pray for the wealthy family’s dead loved ones.
In Scotland, children would go door to door just like children do today, only they would perform some kind of an act or trick in exchange for food. This was a practice known as “guising” — a trick for a treat.
The tradition that most resembled modern day trick or treating, originated in the UK in the early 1800s. Children would walk around their neighborhoods wearing masks and carrying effigies, or small sculptures.
In the US, trick or treating was an annual tradition until World War II (it was suspended during the war because of sugar rations.) After the war, it became popular again, when lots of children came along during the “baby boom.”
The term “trick-or treat” was first referenced in print in 1927 in Canada.
A survey taken in 2006, found that over half of British homeowners turned off their lights and pretended not to be home on Halloween.
Store bought Halloween costumes were first sold in the 1930s, and Halloween is the third best known party holiday on the western calendar — behind New Year’s Eve and Super Bowl parties.
So from the Celtics to Shepherdstown, trick or treating has its origins in multiple cultures and the custom has had many contributing factors to make it what it is today.
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