History of Trick or Treating Explained for Kids
Ask ten parents where trick or treating comes from and you'll hear "the Celts, 2,000 years ago" at least six times. I used to say it too. But that's a round guess, not a measured date. The real story is younger and friendlier: the custom grew out of souling and guising, two old traditions where people went door to door for food, and the exact phrase "trick or treat" was first recorded in Ontario in 1917.
| Custom or event | Earliest date we can point to |
|---|---|
| Souling (England) | At least the 15th century |
| Guising (Scotland and Ireland) | 16th century |
| Guising in North America (British Columbia) | 1898 |
| "Trick or treat" in print (Ontario) | 1917 |
[IMG1|alt=Kids in costumes holding treat buckets at a door]
Trick or treat meaning: what are kids actually doing?
In plain words, trick or treating is a Halloween custom in which people in costume go house to house on the night of 31 October asking for treats. The "trick" is usually an idle threat of mischief if no treat is given, so it works like a polite warning with a grin. If a child asks you about the trick or treat meaning, you can say: dress up, knock, and get a treat in return. Houses signal that they have treats with Halloween decorations or a porch light left on, and some leave treats on the porch on the honor system.
It helps to know how the holiday got its name, too. Halloween is short for "All Hallows' Eve." "Hallow" means holy or saint, and "even" is the Scots word for evening, which shrank to "e'en" and then to Halloween. The evening of 31 October, All Saints' Day on 1 November and All Souls' Day on 2 November together make up Allhallowtide, a Western Christian time for remembering saints and the dead. By the 1700s the word "Halloween" was in common use in Scotland.
When did trick or treating start? Meet souling and guising
People often ask when did trick or treating start, and how did trick or treating began at all. The answer starts with two "great-grandparents." In souling, people (poor folks first, children later) visited houses at Allhallowtide and received small spiced soul cakes. They either stood in for the dead or prayed for the dead in return. Souling goes back at least to the 15th century and was recorded in Britain, Flanders, southern Germany and Austria. Shakespeare mentions it in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), and in England it stayed an important custom into the 19th century.
In guising, children dressed up and had to earn their treats by performing: a song, a poem, a joke. Treats back then were usually fruit, nuts or coins, not factory candy. Today children often get chocolate. Guising is recorded in Scotland and Ireland at least as far back as the 16th century, and so is the wearing of costumes at Halloween. A related British and Irish tradition, mumming, had people going door to door in costume acting out short plays for food or drink. One theory is that trick or treating grew from people impersonating spirits of the dead and collecting offerings.
Where did trick or treating come from: the Celts and Samhain?
Maybe in part and nobody can say for sure. When we talk about the origins of trick-or-treating, Samhain ("SOW-in") often comes up first. It was the Celtic festival that marked the end of the harvest and the start of winter, when people believed the line between the living and the dead grew thin. They lit bonfires, and some wore disguises. Irish tradition names the hill of Tlachtga in County Meath as a place where Samhain fires were lit. Scholars disagree on how much Samhain shaped Halloween: some say it influenced it, others say Halloween began on its own as a Christian vigil.
The Celts wrote very little down, so most of what we know comes from medieval stories, including the 10th-century Irish tale of Nera and the Dead Man. That's why "2,000 years old" is only a round guess. The Christian part of the holiday is about 1,300 years old. There is evidence that churches in Ireland and Northumbria held an all-saints feast on 1 November by 800, and in 835 the Frankish Empire officially adopted 1 November as All Saints' Day, endorsed by Pope Gregory IV (some kids' sites credit Pope Gregory III, so sources differ). Earlier, All Saints' was often marked in spring: Pope Boniface IV endorsed 13 May in 609 when he re-dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to Mary and all martyrs.
That's a good lesson for curious kids: history has gaps, and good historians say "we don't know" out loud.
History of trick or treating around the world
The same idea shows up in many places. In Portugal, children ask for soul cakes on All Saints' and All Souls' Day (Pão-por-Deus). In the Philippines the custom is called Pangangaluwa and takes place on All Hallows' Eve. In northwestern and central Mexico, kids ask for their calaverita, a "little skull" made of sugar or chocolate. An ancient Greek writer, Athenaeus, even described children on Rhodes dressing as swallows and singing at doors for food, though Wikipedia says it's extremely unlikely that one is a direct relative of ours.
When did trick or treating start in America?
Immigration. Irish and Scottish families carried their customs to North America in the 19th century. The earliest known guising here is from 1898 in British Columbia, and "trick or treat!" turns up in writing in Ontario in 1917 (some kids' sites give 1911, which conflicts with Wikipedia). There's no single invention day, only a slow blend of older customs and a catchy new phrase.
Why do we say trick or treat? Where did the phrase come from?
The phrase trick or treat significance is simple: it names the deal. Where did the phrase trick or treat come from? Its first recorded appearance is Ontario in 1917, as a catchy new way to describe an old exchange. And here's a surprise: saying "trick or treat" only became common in Scotland and Ireland in the 2000s. Before that, Irish children usually called out "help the Halloween party." The custom traveled out and the words traveled back.
Can you act out guising at your own party?
Yes, and it's the best way to show a child what trick or treating is about. Guising is a performance game, and kids who may be shy at a stranger's door often love it with friends. At home or in a play space, set up a few "doors" (a chair with a paper sign works) and let each child earn a treat with a joke, a song or a silly walk.
For a group, split kids into teams of 3 or 4 and give each child a role: the performer, the door-knocker, the cheerleader. Then rotate. Older kids can run a mini treasure hunt where each clue is a "door" with a riddle. For treats, do what guisers did and go beyond candy: fruit, little toys or stickers. Check allergies first.
If you'd like to follow a costume parade with some running around, we're Fun Play World, an indoor playground and birthday venue at 10672 West Pico Blvd in West LA and 828 Pico Blvd in Santa Monica. Our facility is nut-free, and caregivers are encouraged to join in and supervise. For questions or party dates, call (502) 324-7529 or write to contact@funplayworld.com.