Trick or treat is the ultimatum given by children who call on houses to solicit gifts at Halloween.
You couldn't ask for a better example of the way language and traditions migrate over time across different cultures than trick or treating. Well-known to be an American tradition, its origins lie in medieval Europe.
There are many Christian and pagan rituals and celebrations that have taken place on or around November 1 each year.
These occurred in virtually every English-speaking and Christian country. They have evolved and merged over the centuries and continue to do so. Common features of these traditions are - asking for food, dressing in disguise and a connection to the spirits of the deceased.
Today, we know it as trick-or-treating, but then it was called souling.
The practice of souling - going from door to door on or about All Souls Day to solicit gifts of food in return for prayers
for the dead - evolved from a pagan ritual that was practised all over Europe, possibly as early as the 10th century.
As a Christian tradition, it goes back to at least the 14th century, when it is mentioned by Chaucer. It is still commonplace in many Catholic countries, notably Ireland, where soul-cakes are left out for the departed.
The tradition has altered now so that children, usually dressed in disguise, ask for gifts around the beginning of November.
In America, trick-or-treating has many of the features of the earlier rituals, thanks to knowledge brought to the US by
immigrants from Europe.
In Scotland, it is called guising which is a clear predecessor of trick-or-treat. The main difference between the two was
that the children performed a small bit of entertainment like a poem or jokes, before being given gifts.
This is now merging into trick or treating, with sweets being expected without the party piece.
The earliest known citation of trick-or-treat in print is from an item in the US newspaper The Oregon Journal, dated November 1, 1934, with the headline: "Halloween Pranks Keep Police on Hop".
A ring on the doorbell, followed by "trick or treat?", is heard in households in many countries around the world on October
31.
Did you know?
Everything you ever wanted to know about pumpkins but were afraid to ask.
Pumpkins are fruits. A pumpkin is a type of squash and is a member of the gourd family (Cucurbitacae), which also includes squash, cucumbers, gherkins and melons.
The largest pumpkin pie ever baked was in 2005 and weighed 2,020 lbs.
Pumpkins have been grown in North America for 5,000 years. They are indigenous to the western hemisphere.
In 1584, after French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the St Lawrence region of North America, he reported finding "gros
melons". The name was translated into English as "pompions", which has since evolved into the modern "pumpkin".
Pumpkins are low in calories, fat, and sodium and high in fibre. They are good sources of Vitamin A and B, as well as
potassium, protein and iron.
The largest pumpkin ever grown was 1,689 lbs. It was grown by Joe Jutras of North Scituate, Rhode Island, in America.
Pumpkins take between 90 and 120 days to grow and are picked in October when they are bright orange in colour.
