Trick-or-treating, also known as guising, is a popular activity among children on Halloween, in which kids dress up in spooky costumes and knock door to door for treats. It has become socially expected for people who celebrate Halloween that if one lives in a neighborhood with children one should purchase treats in preparation for trick-or-treaters. It is a funny concept and one of the main traditions of Halloween. The activity is popular in the US and UK and is fast catching up with the rest of the Europe.
The custom of 'trick or treat' probably has several origins. Again mostly Irish. An old Irish peasant practice called for going door to door to collect money, bread cake, cheese, eggs, butter, nuts, apples, etc., in preparation for the festival of St. Columbus Kill. Yet another custom was the begging for soul cakes, or offerings for one's self - particularly in exchange for promises of prosperity or protection against bad luck. It is with this custom the concept of the fairies came to be incorporated as people used to go door to door begging for treats. Failure to supply the treats would usually result in practical jokes being visited on the owner of the house.
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