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\\nHave you ever wondered how trick or treating came to be? On today’s episode we are going to visit the candy graveyard and dive deep into the history of Halloween.
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\\nThe tradition of dressing up in costume and going door to door for food has had roots in many ancient cultures. The greeks had a version of this behavior as well as the ancient Romans. For example, the Greek island of Rhodes had a custom where children would dress up as swallows. They would go door to door singing songs. It was expected that the owner of the home would give them food for the performance. If they didn\\u2019t give the children food, then the children would perform a trick on the poor homeowner. The trick took the form of mischief against the homeowner. It is unlikely that this custom from a remote Greek island spawned Halloween as we know it today.
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\\nCeltic Festivals to Soul Cakes
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\\nFast forward a bit to the Celts. There is actually a Celtic festival that takes place on October 31 – November 1 that seems a dead ringer for Halloween as we know it today. 
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\\nSamhain is a Celtic festival that celebrates the end of the harvest. It was believed that during this time spirits and souls of the dead would wander through our world. They\\u2019d be appeased with offerings of food and drink from different homes. This belief is found through several European cultures. Many people believe that trick or treating evolved from this custom. People began to dress up as the dead and went door to door to receive the offerings.
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\\nAnother tradition in England seems to have contributed further to modern day trick or treating. Have you ever heard of soul cakes? This is a very Halloween sounding morsel of food. Back in the Middle Ages, Christians would celebrate Allhallowtide. This took place October 31-November 2. People would visit homes and ask for soul cakes. They would say they represented the dead and promised pray for the souls of the relatives who had passed of the homeowner. 
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\\nSoul Cakes sound really creepy. However, I promise they are completely harmless. They are small cakes usually filled with allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and other sweet spices. Raisins and currents were also added to the mix inside. They were often topped with the mark of a cross before baking to signify that these were offerings to the poor. 
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\\nSouling: The Roots of Trick or Treating
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\\nThe act of going door to door hunting for soul cakes became known as \\u201csouling\\u201d. Soul cakes were often kept for luck and not eaten. In the 1800s, a lady reported that she had a soul cake that was over 100 years old.
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\\nLet\\u2019s talk about souling for a minute. Souling is a fusion of Pagan and Christian rituals. It was popular in England and spread to Portugal. There is actually a former Portuguese colony in the Philippines that still practices souling to this day!
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\\nThe earliest record of souling is found in 1511. It was once a widespread tradition throughout England. By the end of the 1800s, only a few towns were still embracing this activity in parts of England and Wales. Souling involves a group of people who go door to door to sing a traditional request for apples, ale and soul cakes. These songs were known as Souler\\u2019s songs and had a somber lamenting tone to them. Some towns fully embraced this practice and would leave heaping piles of soul cakes out for people to take. 
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\\nAs souling evolved, people began to dress in costumes or disguises. They would carry lanterns and have bonfires while playing divination games. It sounds pretty dark, but seems to be a main contributor to our modern day Halloween. 
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\\nThe Candy Graveyard: Trick or Treat Becomes A Na...'