Trick or Treat – The Original Door to Door Salesmen
“Trick or Treat”… that’s the phrase you’ll hear lots of times tonight as miniature vampires, witches and other costumed characters come to your door. Perhaps you may even become one of them?
Although Halloween can be a lot of fun and most peoples mind will be on candy exchanges and cunning costumes not many folks will stop to consider where this tradition came from. Oddly enough, trick or treating has ties to All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day … two Catholic holidays spent honoring martyrs and praying for the deceased.
Trick or treating was derived from souling, a practice dating back as far as the Middle Ages where the deprived traveled door to door offering prayers for the departed in exchange for soul cakes. Costumes became increasingly popular as early trick or treaters attempted to resemble spirits. Popularity in America increased in the 1920’s and the holiday actually became quite dangerous in the 1930’s as the phrase was meant quite literally if treats were not offered! Very often nasty tricks and even vandalism followed if a person didn’t “treat” the traveler. Today, Halloween has become the second biggest event in the calendar year and it is a multi billion dollar industry as well as being one of the sweetest! Stay safe to tonight… and enjoy!
