You put on our costume and grab a bucket, you are about to go trick or treating. You leave your house, walk to the nearest neighbors house, and knock on the door. Once they answer the door, bowl in hand, you say enthusiastically, “Trick or Treat!”
Halloween is a holiday that has been celebrated for many years, and has definitely evolved over time. The holiday went from being a ritual to receive offerings on behalf of the dead, to now, where it is all about the aesthetic and candy.
Halloween has deep spiritual origins, and used to be celebrated very differently than what is today, especially in America. “The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts,” according to MIT. This holiday was all about warding off things that were thought to be evil, but how did we get to the Halloween of today, where children go door to door asking for candy?
One of the many theories of the origin of modern ‘Trick or Treating’ comes from the German practice of “belsnickeling”. This is where children would dress up, and go door to door at neighbors houses to see if their neighbors could guess what they were dressed up as. If the neighbors could not guess, the children were rewarded with food or candy.
Halloween spiritually has roots in the Pre-Celtic tradition of Samhain which was celebrated on the night of October 31st. “The Celts… believed that the dead returned to earth on Samhain. On the sacred night, people gathered to light bonfires, offer sacrifices and pay homage to the dead,” (History).
So Halloween, although rooted in spiritual traditions, has certainly evolved into much more of a corporate holiday than a ritual. People are enticed by all of the latest Halloween decorations, including giant animated skeletons and other animatronic creatures to place in one’s yard, creating a spooky atmosphere for passers by.
Candy is also bought and consumed in bulk round the holiday, people flock to grocery stores to buy giant bags of mixes of candies like Snickers bars, 3 Musketeers, Hershey’s Chocolate Bars, Twizlers, and so much more.
Then there is the coveted “Whole Candy Bar” house that kids line up for each year. These houses purchase larger sized candy bars instead of the mini or “fun sized” candy bars that are easy and cheaper to buy in bulk.
Halloween costumes have also varied from year to year. From originally being things like cats, ghosts and witches To being children’s favorite TV show characters like Bluey, or funny play on words costumes like chicken and waffles where the person dressed up in a chicken onesie, and puts a waffle in their pocket.
Finally, Halloween brings out the prankster in many people. From having motion-activated scary animatronic creatures in their yard orr simply having a spider hanging in a tree to frighten kids,Halloween pranks are a time honored tradition, and help to make the holiday fun.
Halloween is an important holiday for Americans everywhere. It is a time-honored tradition full of costumes, candy, tricks, and passion that has evolved significantly since its creation. How will Halloween look in the future?
