Halloween is just around the corner and people have started the preparations for the celebration. The festival is dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the departed souls. Other less commonly used names of this eve are Allhalloween, All Hallows Eve, etc.
One of the traditions during Halloween is trick or treating where kids go to houses to ask for candies. Let’s find out the origin of this tradition and its significance since October 31st is just around the corner. Happy Halloween!
Read More: Top 10 Supernatural K Dramas For Halloween
Story Behind Trick Or Treating Tradition
There were traditions similar to modern trick-or-treating taking place during classical antiquity (between the 8th century BC and the 6th century AD). During the middle ages, a practice of mumming took place.
It involved going door-to-door in costume and performing short scenes or parts of plays in exchange for food or drink. The custom of trick or treating during Halloween may come from a certain belief.
The belief is that supernatural entities, or the souls of the dead, roam the earth during this time and needed to be appeased. Another theory suggests that it might be a harvest festival.
Trick or treating may have been in a Celtic festival, Samhain, held on 31 October–1 November, to mark the beginning of winter, in Ireland, Scotland.
Read More: What Is The History Of Halloween? Why Do We Celebrate It?
The Emergence Of Today’s Halloween TOT Tradition
“Trick or treat!” are the words used to ask for sweets or candy, with the original implication that anyone who does not provide treats will be subjected to a prank or a practical joke.
Some reports suggest that it started in central Canada, before spreading into the northern and western USA in the 1930s and across the rest of the country through the 40s and early 50s.
It became a widespread phenomenon in the late 30s and was first used in a national publication occurring in 1939. In 1953, UNICEF helped in making it popular by raising funds for the charity while trick-or-treating.
Since then, its been widely practiced across the globe during Halloween and people keep candies at home for the same. However, there have been reports of parents not letting their kids do trick-or-treat due to safety concerns.
Read More: ‘Halloween Ends’: Cast, Plot, And Release Date
