Why and when was Trick or Treat born for Halloween?

Today Halloween is synonymous with trick or treat, with children dressing up and knocking on doors to ask for sweets. But this tradition has unexpected and very different origins, since in the past October 31st was mainly a night of jokes and pranks.

It wasn't until the 1950s that Halloween began to take on the form we know today, becoming a safer, more family-friendly holiday. Below, we delve into the roots of trick or treat and how it became a popular custom in the United States and then around the world.

When was Halloween born as a holiday of pranks?

The tradition of Halloween has its roots in a nineteenth-century custom, when the night of October 31st was associated with jokes more than to candies. One of the episodes that best illustrates this spirit dates back to 1879, when a group of kids placed a dummy on the tracks of a train in Newport, Kentucky, to scare the engineer. Halloween night offered young people a chance to rebellion e extreme pranks which, in some areas, ended up endangering people's safety.

Historian Christopher Klein explains that in the small rural towns of the 19th century, pranks were mainly aimed at farmers, targeting vegetable gardens and livestock: boys would open gates to let the livestock escape, uproot plants and hide work tools. For these reasons, Halloween also became known as “Gate Night” (night of the gates).

How did trick or treating come about as an alternative to pranks?

At the beginning of the twentieth century, with the increase of vandalism and to the accidents linked to the pranks of Halloween, many began to see the holiday as a problem for public order. American newspapers reported incidents in which manhole covers were removed, tires deflated and even road signs tampered with, causing safety problems. During the Great Depression, the increase in social discontent further worsened the situation, so much so that some municipalities considered the idea of ​​banning the festival.

Faced with this prospect, many families decided to find a safest solution: they organized door to door halloween parties where children could collect desserts instead of playing pranks. As author Lisa Morton says in her essay Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween, These structured parties were the first versions of modern trick-or-treating.

How did trick or treat spread?

The phrase "trick or treat" It only became popular in the fifties, when awareness campaigns and magazine articles made this formula part of Halloween culture. Children were told that asking for sweets could replace pranks, while adults were advised to welcome little visitors with candy to avoid pranks. The Disney short "Trick or Treat", released in 1952, further contributed to spreading the idea of ​​Halloween as a playful and non-dangerous holiday, rooting the tradition in the United States.

How is the night of pranks celebrated today?

Despite the evolution towards a safer and more candy-oriented Halloween, in some US cities the 30 October remains one Night of mischief. In Detroit, for example, “Mischief Night” is famous for numerous acts of vandalism, which have prompted local authorities to impose a curfew and organize volunteer patrols to prevent damage.