Trick or Treat!

   When you hear the phrase Trick or treat you probably think of things like: "Wow it's almost Halloween, the year went fast." Or "I can't wait to put on my costume and eat lots of candy!" or maybe even, "Darn it! I forgot to buy candy!"  What ever comes to mind when you hear that phrase, we all know that it is Halloween time.  A time when young, and probably even not so young kids dress up in scary, funny, or cute costumes of animals, ghosts, and the latest movie characters and go door to door ringing the doorbells and repeating for the hundredth time that famous phrase of, "trick or treat!" in exchange for delicious sweets that will later be feasted upon resulting in a sugar rush, stomach ache and a hard crash.  We all, young and old, have enjoyed this day of the year.  But have you ever thought of when or where trick or treating started, and maybe even why it started? Well, lets explore the tradition a little and find out!

    Halloween is a holiday that is celebrated by numerous countries all around the world. The world Halloween actually translates to "all hallows day", meaning "all saints day" which is what I guess you could call a type of "Halloween" observed in countries like Mexico.  It is a catholic tradition that honors saints on the 1st of November.  October 31st came into play because the Celtic, Ireland summer officially ended on that date and marked the Celtic New Year. 

    There are many thoughts to the actual origin of trick or treating but one thought is that it dates back to a ninth century tradition in Europe referred to as "souling." Christian beggars would travel door to door and beg for soul cakes, pieces of bread made with currants, and in exchange for the bread would say prayers for the givers dead relatives. In that time it was thought that those prayers may help a family member obtain passage to Heaven.
    Another theory is that during Samhain (Celtic New Year) druids feared that the dead would play tricks on people, so the citizens of the town would give food to the druids in order to please the dead and avoid the terrible tricks.
    Over time idea of trick or treating has evolved and in the 1930's it was introduced to the United States.  It was not super popular among adults at first, but being that its been around for over 70 years now, the ideas seems to have caught on.

Info From:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/trick-or-treat.html
http://vygotsky.ced.appstate.edu/all_about_me/Halloween/History%20of%20Trick%20Or%20Treating.htm
http://www.halloweenishere.com/history.html

Picture From:
http://www.savingwithshellie.com/2011/10/07/halloween-candy-coupons/