Trick-O-Treat is one of the favorite parts of Halloween. A long time ago, all the poor people would go out at night to people's homes begging and the people would give them treats called soul cakes. After a while, time has changed so children as they went to different houses, they would be given fruit, bread, and maybe money. Now, when the custom came to America, the children would be given candy to prevent the people from being tricked. It was tradition that if a person did not give the child candy, the child would play a trick on them, such as egging their house. While going from house to house, most of them are in costumes like witches, cartoon characters, etc. For example the Tin Man, Dorothy costume, Cowardly Lion or Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz. Another example is Snow White or Rapunzel being chased by a witch.
The best clue for how trick or treat got started comes to us from the Middle, or Dark Ages, when the Catholic church approved the act of "souling". This event was devised so that beggars could go around asking for food, usually barley or oat cakes, in exchange for prayers. The Catholic church said the prayers were an extra bit of "insurance" that a dead person's spirit would be given entry into heaven. Soul Cake day is no longer in common practice in England, but it is still rather popular in Scotland and Ireland and from this, it is believed, the concept of trick or treat arose. Trick or treating and different Halloween traditions didn't start happening in America until sometime in the early part of the 20th century.
