markp (11/02/82)
As long as everyone is talking about Hallowe'en, does anyone know the origin of the phrase "trick-or-treat"? Mark R. Paulin ...decvax!teklabs!tekmdp!markp
bcw (11/03/82)
From: Bruce C. Wright @ Duke University Re: Origin of the phrase "trick or treat" The origin of Halloween is, of course, the Druidic new year. The Druids believed that on that night the souls of those people who died in the previous year inhabited the bodies of animals and so forth, and went around to their homes in life, seeking absolution or something (I forget). The point is that these spirits were supposed to be mischievous and people were supposed to appease them with food and so forth. This is also the origin of the children dressing up and wandering around looking for treats. Bruce C. Wright @ Duke University
jrc (11/03/82)
Re Bruce Wright's notes on Hallowe'en: The dressing up as monsters also came from Druidian tradition. The god of the Underworld was supposed to let the dead souls free to roam the Earth on Hallowe'en, and dressing up as scary monsters was supposed to scare the dead away. When the Christian era hit Britain, the timing of All Saints Day so close to their traditional freeing of the dead souls confused the common people sufficiently that they couldn't tell the difference. This led to the modern concept of the Druidian evening with the Christian name. That name? Hallowe'n, of course, which comes from the old name "All Hallow's Eve", the night before All Saints Day, also known as "Hallow Even", shortened to Hallowe'en. Jim Cordy