Did You Ever Wonder Why We Pass Out Candy on Halloween?
Every year we dress up our kids in costume and take them around to strangers houses to collect candy and call it “trick-or-treating”. When you actually think about it, it seems strange, right?
Why do we actually do this? I mean, Did You Ever Wonder Why We Pass Out Candy on Halloween?
If you didn’t before, you probably are wondering now and the answer is quite interesting…
It all starts with the history of Halloween and according to historical reports, today’s Halloween traditions evolved from Celtic tradition where Irish-American immigrants introduced fireside ghost stories and divination.
October 31, was the date of the Celtic festival of “Samhain” (meaning “summer’s end”), which dates back to at least the ninth century B.C.E.
During this event, Celts believed there was a “rift in reality” in which otherworldly beings were free to roam the Earth in search of living bodies to possess.
Because of this, they believed that if they wore animal skins and animal heads (costumes) they could confused these beings and be kept from being possessed.
That may have been where the idea of costumes first began.
Some time after, Americans began dressing up in costumes and going from house-to-house, asking for food or even money.
But in the 1950’s, people began asking for halloween candy instead. The tradition caught on and parents began dressing their kids up and sending them out to collect candy making it what it is today.
So, as you are out trick-or-treating this year with your kids, keep these traditions in mind because it is actually sort of cool once you know.
