Trick or Treat?

October 31, 2018

• Topical

From witches to vampires, pumpkins to pirates, zombies to devils, these are just a few of the many costumes we see fill the streets every year on the night of the 31st October to trick or treat. Halloween has been a customary celebration in many different countries for many years, but what started this spooky tradition?

Halloween, also known as All Hallows’ Eve, descends from an ancient pagan festival, celebrated by Celtic people over 2000 years ago, originally called Samhain – this means “summers end” and marks the beginning of the winter alongside celebrating the beginning of the Celtic year.  

The ancient Celts believed that at this time, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred and it was thought that ghosts and demons could return to earth. During the festival, people would light bonfires and wear costumes to disguise themselves and warn off roaming ghosts, alongside put foods outside their homes to placate the spirits. Orange and black became the colours of Halloween, with orange being associated with the harvest and black linked to darkness and death.

Over time, Halloween has evolved into a secular, community-based event characterised by fun activities such as trick-or-treating. However, the tradition of going door-to-door for sugary treats once involved more than just a plea for chocolate when knocking on the door of each house you visited. It was normal to perform dances, songs, prayers and plays in the Middle Ages, with children and sometimes poor adults begging for food or money in exchange for their performance. It is believed that from this, known then as “guising”, the concept of trick or treat arose.

As the second highest grossing commercial celebration after Christmas and with the approximate 41 million trick or treaters that are out and about every year worldwide, make sure you have your bowl of goodies at the ready!

Let us know at Kings Tutors what your costume will be this year.