Who invented trick or treating

They ring doorbells. They beg for treats. When you think about it, trick or treating is kind of a weird thing. Where did it come from anyway? Today I Found Out discovered that the practice began with a Celtic tradition. It celebrated the end of the year by dressing up as evil spirits.

Here is what the Celts believed. As we move from one year to the next, the dead and the living would overlap. Demons would roam the earth again. Dressing up as demons was a defense mechanism. You might encounter a real demon roaming the Earth. If you were dressed up they would think you were one of them. Fast forward to when the Catholic Church was stealing everybody's holidays.

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It is he who has found the earliest known examples of trick or treat in use. Popik's research traces early iterations of the term to the northwestern part of North America, specifically the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan:.

Hallowe'en night was observed in the usual manner by the young "bloods" in Penhold. No real damage was done except to the temper of some who had to hunt for wagon wheels, gates, wagons, barrels, etc.

The local equivalent here Decatur, Illinois is "Trick or treat. The proposal is, obviously, a mild kind of blackmail in which—whatever the motives—the treats are always forthcoming. The writer above was responding to an article entitled "Halloween: Shell Out," shell out being another phrase employed in the same context. And in a Merriam-Webster editor wrote a note objecting to the defining of trick or treat as " the Halloween practice" rather than " a Halloween practice" because "the beginning word 'the' makes it sound like a universal practice.

But I never heard of it when I was a child in southern Illinois. She specializes in home, garden, environmental, and green living topics. Halloween is huge in our areas. I keep a pen and paper and we count.

We live to see all the kiddos. We have 80 to trick or treaters most years. We really enjoy decorating our yard and seeing all the costumes that the kids are wearing.

A few children still go door to door, but sadly just a small number do. Great memories and tons of candy! Moon Phase Calendar. Email Facebook 16 Pinterest Twitter. The Ghosts Return! About the author Related Posts.