Trick-or-treat

Trick or Treat, also known as Guising, is an activity for children on Hallowe'en, in which they are dressed up in costumes, often of supposedly malevolent supernatural beings such as ghosts, demons, or witches, and proceed from house to house, asking for sweets with the phrase "trick-or-treat?" with the implied threat that, if their demands for confectionery are not met, they will perform some "trickery".

The activity is popular in the United States and Canada, and occurs (though with considerably less enthusiasm) in Australia.

It originated in Great Britain and Ireland and is still popular in many parts of Scotland, England, and Ireland. In Scotland and the North of England, the older name for it is guising because of the disguise or costume worn by the children. However there is a subtle difference from the way the practice has developed in the States. In Scotland, the children are only supposed to receive treats if they perform tricks. These normally take the form of a simple joke, song or funny poem which the child has memorised before setting out. Occasionally a more talented child may do card tricks, play the mouth organ or something even more impressive. However most children will earn plenty treats even with a very simple trick. In Ireland there is no "trick" involved (neither the British party trick nor the American jocular threat), just "treats" -- in the form of apples or nuts given out to the children.

It was once believed that on Hallowe'en, the spiritual world was at its strongest point of the year. It was commonly believed that supernatural beings, usually malevolent, walked free on Earth for this night. People would wear masks when they went outside, in an attempt to disguise themselves as spirits so they could travel unharmed. As the superstition faded, the practice became more tradition and the requisite spirit disguise gradually gave way to hobos, clowns, and commercialized trademarked characters such as Barbie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Trick-or-treating, and Hallowe'en in general experiences lulls and peaks in popularity. Its climax was probably in the 1940s with huge parades of disguised "spirits" of all ages, and trick-or-treating that lasted for four or more days in some places. While trick-or-treating is as popular in Britain and in Ireland as ever it was, in recent years it has diminished in the United States as a result of bad publicity. One popular urban legend is the story of razor blades or needles being pushed into apples before being handed out to children. There have been scares relating to LSD-laced gum or temporary tattoos, and many stories about poisoned candy. Many dentist's offices, either seeking publicity or out of genuine concern, offer free x-rays of halloween candy to check for foreign objects. While many of these stories have some basis in fact, it is often unrelated to trick-or-treating, happened once several decades ago, or sometimes is just completely fictitious. (I'm looking for more documentation on this, but I'd appreciate help.) In 2001 in the United States, this traditional fear was amplified by the anthrax attacks, and many communities offered various anti-anthrax services ranging from simple inspection to irradiation of the candy.

Some cities, citing public safety, haved banned trick-or-treating or even Hallowe'en completely. Reasons given often have to do with a supposed rise in kidnapping attempts during Hallowe'en, or because of a glut of "tricks" or vandalism. Occasionally a city will make a public proclamation that they as a community oppose trick-or-treating for health or religious reasons. Few cities have banned it for more than a few years without it being at least unofficially reinstated. In 2001 in the United States, trick-or-treating was much less popular than it had been in previous years, with many communities asking parents to restrict their children's activities if not banning it altogether.

For many children, trick-or-treating makes Hallowe'en the most beloved of holidays, even more than Christmas. Regardless of the financial state of the parents, the child can be assured of plenty of sweets, limited only by the distance they can walk, but with the rise of scooters, even this limit has begun to fade.