The Backstory of a Billion Dollar Industry

My newest book, Reckless Hart, features single mother Lauren, along with her young daughter, Fawn, as they move to a new town to begin a new life. Right about now, Lauren and Fawn would probably be decorating for Halloween and shopping for Fawn’s Halloween costume and buying candy for trick-or-treaters. But how did modern day trick-or-treating even come about? Did it resemble today’s tradition of kids dressing up and going door-to-door for candy?

The origins of trick-or-treating actually go back a couple of thousand years, when poor medieval children in Europe would go door to door during the Celtic holiday of Samhain (celebrated on October 31) asking for food and money, and in turn they would offer to pray for the souls of any recently departed loved ones in the household. During this holiday, people would disguise themselves as ghosts to “blend in” with the spirits that supposedly came out during the holiday.

By the 19th century, the Catholic Church had deemed the day All Hallow’s Eve or All Souls’ Day, and kids started upping their game, often singing songs or performing in some way in exchange for treats.  Although candy wasn’t yet a part of the mix, during this time neighbors gave out small round cakes called soul cakes, as well as fruit and nuts. Kids started dressing as angels, devils and saints.

The tradition continued to evolve, and around the 1920s the practice started to look a little more like what it does today. By this point the holiday had started to be associated with harmful mischief and vandalism, and communities came together to try and create a day that was more civilized and kept everyone safe. However, it wasn’t until the 1950s when candy companies started to cash in on the holiday, and instead of coins, fruits, nuts, and other trinkets, kids started receiving mass-produced candy, a tradition that continues today. Americans spend about $2.6 billion on Halloween candy each year.