Anna Roberts

April 25, 2017

ENGL 2710-Stone

Trick-or-Treat

Orange, red, and yellow

leaves line the sidewalk carving

the path for witches, fairies,

goblins, and ghosts to delight in a

night of mischievous fun.

October 31st is a night generally

associated with jack-o-lanterns,

full moons, and of course, lots and lots of candy. https://www.theodysseyonline.com/how-old-is-

too-old

Evolving from ancient Roman and Celtic traditions, Halloween has become a night of

anticipated tradition, especially for American children, and a large eagerness is centered

on trick-or-treating. Trick-or-treating involves many customs with a whimsical history

that has evolved into the amusements of these little goblins and ghosts.

When we picture trick-or-treating, one of the first images that pops into our head

is the variation of costumes adorned by kids. Where though, does the idea of dressing up

for Halloween come from? Like all social and cultural expressions. Halloween has a

history and occurs in a context. Many of its images of the supernatural and the

otherworldly are pre-Christian, whereas others, such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and

Freddy Frueger, are drawn from more recent popular culture. (Santino) Just like the

entire holiday itself, the concept of costuming for Halloween derives from the ancient
Celtic celebration of Samhain. The costumes during those ancient times were a bit

different than they are in modern times, the cultural expressions unlike the pop-cultural

representations we see traveling the leaf-strewn streets today.

One of the main concepts of Samhain was that for one night, the dead could walk

amongst the living. That meant spirits, good or bad, could visit your home. Because of

that belief, Celts hid themselves in ghoulish disguise so that the spirits wandering about

would mistake them for one of their own and pass by without incident. Masked villagers

representing the souls of the dead also attempted to trick the spirits by forming a parade

and leading them to the town limits. (Bannatyne) The masks and ghoulish disguises of

those times generally were hides and skins from slaughtered animals (Belk) and

sometimes cross-dressing, men dragging as women and women as men. (Owen)

 The Christian Church influenced the idea of dressing up on Halloween when they

took over Samhain and turned it into All Saints Day. The Church encouraged people to

stop dressing up as evil spirits, and instead imitate various Saints and visit peoples

homes to wish them well.

(Bannatyne) When Halloween

traditions from Ireland and Britain

made their way over to the United

States, donning costumes was

included. Vintage costumes from the

late 19th century and early 20th century

often were crude depictions of ghouls,

http://www.boredpanda.com/scary-vintage-halloween-creepy- pumpkins, clowns, and other unnatural

costumes/

beings. Eventually, the costuming evolved into broader and refined impersonations,

following pop-culture trends.

Today, popular costumes for kids include, Batman, cats, Disney princesses, Star

Wars characters, witches, and other common monsters. ("Top) According to "A Brief

History of Trick-or-Treating", Americans spend $1 billion dollars annually for childrens

Halloween costumes. Dressing up for Halloween is a big deal for most children.

Coordinating costumes with friends, entering costume contests, walking in costume

parades at schools, and of course, showing off while trick-or-treating are incentives to

either make or buy the spookiest, cutest, or silliest costume around.

 To some, costumes are the greatest part of Halloween. To others, it is the hopeful

feeling of having fun-sized chocolates, sweet colorful hard-candies, and loads of chewing

gum to unwrap for the next few weeks. Asking for candy on

Halloween has its ancient origins, just like Halloween

costumes. During the festival of Samhain, people took the

time to pay off debts, collect livestock, and buy and sell

land. (Bannatyne) The idea of trading goods was already in

place. Because Samhain represented a time where the dead

could walk amongst the living, people would leave out food

on their doorsteps to appease the spirits. These two

practices can be seen as the origins of the tradition of

http://24.media.tumblr.com/208732444ab019
f5dd9a231b140847a7/tumblr_muh40qtUdy1r
9qhhio1_250.jpg handing out candy to zealous trick-or-treaters today.

As Christianity became widespread and Samhain and other Pagan holidays had to

adopt Christian customs, a tradition that was put into place is the baking of soul cakes.

These replaced the practice of giving food and wine to the dead who came to visit on All

Hallows Eve. The soul cakes were given to the poor, who in exchange, would pray for

deceased family members of the deliverers. The custom eventually evolved into young

men and boys going from house to house in their village singing souling songs and

asking for ale, food, or money. (Bannatyne)

 As time went on and various Irish immigrant Halloween

customs were brought to America, the souling turned into kids

dressing up as the dead, or various monsters, and going house

to house asking for things like fruit, spare change, toys, and

baked goods. ("A Brief) In the 1950s, candy manufacturers

http://clickamericana.com/topi
cs/food-drink/neat-tricks-for-
quick-treats-curtiss-halloween-
caught onto the trick-or-treating trend and started mass- candy-1954

producing fun-sized candy bars and specializing in Halloween-

themed candy. ("A Brief)

Today, it is expected to receive at least one piece of candy

on Halloween night in America. Generally, kids today put on

their masks, head out at dusk, walk next door to ring the

doorbell, and wait for their sugary snacks to be hand delivered into a basket or bag of

some sorts. The most popular Halloween candies today include Reeses, M&Ms,

Snickers, Hersheys, and Kit-Kats; 72% of purchased Halloween candy is chocolate, with

about $12.6 billion spent. (Hess)

Homemade goodies such as cookies, popcorn balls, and candy apples used to be

all the rage. That tradition came to a screeching halt though in the 1970s when urban

legends of razor blades and poison being put into these treats starting making their way

around the country. ("A Brief) That fear still resonates with a lot of parents and many are

hesitant to let their kids get candy from strangers. However, overall, candy and treats

remain a strong and beloved part of trick-or-treating custom.

 The amusing chorus of trick-or-treat

coming from your front porch is a sound that

many Americans are familiar with. Today, the

connotations with that phrase are lighthearted

and, generally with the kids that accompany the

expression, adorable. For many years though,

those upbeat associations were not the case. Guy

Fawkes Day, or November 5th, is an annual

commemoration in Great Britain. Since the late

http://all-hallows-eve
night.tumblr.com/post/13078526684
th
18 century, it has been associated with children begging for 1/etherealalecto-my-favorite-
holiday-season

money with effigies of Guy Fawkes. Over the decades it has

become a night of pranks, not all of them in good fun. The traditions of that holiday were

brought to America. Here, Guy Fawkes Day has a history of extreme troubles, so much so

that many started referring to November 4th, the eve of Guy Fawkes Day, as Mischief

Night. Because of its close date to Halloween, many started taking the mischief traditions

and beginning the fun on October 31st. ("A Brief)

By the mid 1920s, people were starting to get fed up with the shenanigans.

Halloween parties and events had become a regular and classy thing for most Americans,

but they generally were tailored more for adults. Children had little entertainment; hence

their turn towards pulling pranks. Parents started encouraging children to go out and,

essentially, begin what we now know as trick-or-treating. Some kids continued the prank

pulling though, and the phrase trick-or-treating started popping up in various

newspaper article headlines throughout the country. These articles insinuated the
annoyance of the citizens due to these kids tricking the neighbors in attempt to get a

treat to stop their pranks. (Martin)

By 1951, however, trick-or-treating had evolved to the classic American tradition

we know today. Peanuts depicted trick-or-treating in one of their comic strips, and

Disney produced a Donald Duck cartoon featuring his three nephews Huey, Dewey, and

Louie called Trick or Treat. ("History) This was the firm cultural acceptance and

narrative that shaped trick-or-treating for all American children.

http://ogreatpumpkin.blogspot.com/2016/09/1951-first-peanuts-halloween.html

Today playing little tricks is common in some parts of the United States, such

as Minnesota. In order to get a treat, each child must come up with a cute riddle or rhyme

or a simple prank to play. ("History) Another trick-or-treat custom that has evolved in

recent years is trunk-or-treat. This event generally takes place at churches or schools;

people park their cars, dress them up to fit a spooky Halloween theme, and kids go

around car to car rather than door to door to get their treats. A lot of families prefer this to

roaming the neighborhoods as it is a smaller area and therefore easier to keep track of the

children.

Halloween itself is a holiday filled with many traditions. Trick-or-treating is just

one of the many beloved, hosting several customs itself. Almost every American child

participates in the adored tradition and almost every adult has fond memories of their
days parading around as little witches and mummies. Overtime the traditions have grown

and adapted, and with examples like trunk-or-treat, new customs will surely pop up over

time. Regardless, costumes, candy, and going door-to-door (whether for a trick or a treat)

are rituals that have been around for centuries, long before Halloween became the pop-

cultured, candy-rushed, light-heartedly spooky event it is today.

Works Cited

"A Brief History of Trick-or-Treating." Audio blog post. Stuff You Missed in History.
N.p., 8 Oct. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Bannatyne, Lesley Pratt. Halloween: an American holiday, an American history. Gretna,

LA: Pelican Pub. Co., 2005. Print.

Belk, Russell W. "Halloween: an Evolving American Consumption Ritual." ACR North

American Advances. N.p., 01 Jan. 1990. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Hess, Alexander E.M. "Most popular Halloween candy in the USA." USA Today. Gannett
Satellite Information Network, 31 Oct. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.
"History of Trick-or-Treating." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2011. Web. 25
Apr. 2017.

Martin, Gary. "'Trick or treat?' - the meaning and origin of this phrase." Phrasefinder.
N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

Owen, James. " First Halloween Costumes: Skins, Skulls, and Skirts." National
Geographic. National Geographic Society, 29 Oct. 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

"Top 10 Kids Costumes." The Top 10 Kids Costumes for 2016. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr.
2017.

Santino, Jack. Halloween and other festivals of death and life. Knoxville: The U of
Tennessee Press, 2000. Print.