Trick or Treat

Trick or treat as a Halloween-related activity can be traced back to Samhain celebrations as early as 2000 years ago. The Celts (clan of people from England, Ireland, France) believed that on October 31, the Lord of Death (Saman), would call together all the souls that had died the previous year in order for them to travel to the afterlife. As part of their activities around this time, the Celts would offer food to Saman in order to persuade him to more be temperate when he is judging their ancestors. This is seen as a precursor to what we now seen in modern day Halloween celebrations as "trick or treating", as the villagers would be offering food to other villagers (beggars). Over time, this however changed, and the Villagers' children became the beggars, going from house to house to receive fruit, baked products and money.

The modern day trick or treat - today, trick or treating is an activity that's usually reserved for children; they proceed from house to house in costumes, asking for treats such as sweets, chocolates and snacks and asking the question, "Trick or treat?". The "trick" part of "trick or treat" is a threat to play a trick on the homeowner or his property if no treat is handed over. Trick or treating is now said to be the most popular and socially expected aspect of Halloween celebrations.

The trick or treat activity is extremely popular in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada. It is also spreading quickly to other countries due to the impact and influence of American culture on these societies.

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