Although modern day Halloween mainly focuses on things like trick-or-tricking, costumes, and candy, it wasn’t always like this. Halloween used to mark the end of the harvest season. It also focused on ghosts and served as a bridge to the underworld. This spooky holiday has been replaced from a spiritual celebration used to ward off ghouls to a day that has been transformed by modern peoples.
Trick-or-treating has been a yearly tradition ever since the late 1920’s. It originated in Ireland and Britain and has since spread all over the world. Trick-or-treating greatly resembles the old practice of “souling” during the medieval Christian period. During this act, needy folk would walk around door to door to collect food and bestow prayers for the perished on All Souls Day. Many children today while trick-or-treating wear costumes and masks. This custom was part of the Celtic traditions. The costumes and masks were used to resemble evil spirits. The term “trick-or-treat” itself came from Canada in 1927 and was adapted in the United States around 1930. Today children go door to door on Halloween to receive candy and treats.
In our modern day society, the true meaning of Halloween is overlooked. Children are mainly focused on how much candy they can get in one night. Halloween used to be a sacred holiday with lots of meaning which is now forgotten in the present day.