Why Do We Eat Candy On Halloween?

It’s hard to imagine a time when Halloween wasn’t centered around consuming as much candy as humanly possible.
Believe it or not, the two haven’t always gone together.
In fact, it’s actually only pretty recently that candy was first given out on Halloween.
To get the complete picture, we need to go back to the beginning of it all.

So wait, how did Halloween become a thing anyway?

People didn’t always dress up and go Trick-or-Treating, nor was the holiday always called Halloween.
Celtic pagans in Ireland and Scotland celebrated Samhain more than a thousand years ago, a festival that took place over three days and nights.

It was held at the end of the harvest season, and it was said that the barrier between our world and the spirit world was at its weakest.
People would go around dressed up in costumes to protect themselves from roaming spirits.

It was also common to leave out treats on your doorstep to ward evil away.

Not quite. When Christianity was forced onto the Celts in Ireland and Scotland, many of their festivals were rebranded to fit within the Christian image, and Samhain didn’t escape this treatment.

The first day became All Hallow’s Eve, the next All Saint’s Day, and the final day was All Soul’s Day.

With the changes, people began to make a sweet treat called soul cakes.

And then it became Halloween, and we all got candy?

Not quite. When Christianity was forced onto the Celts in Ireland and Scotland, many of their festivals were rebranded to fit within the Christian image, and Samhain didn’t escape this treatment.

The first day became All Hallow’s Eve, the next All Saint’s Day, and the final day was All Soul’s Day.

With the changes, people began to make a sweet treat called soul cakes.
Going “souling” meant visiting wealthy homes and being given soul cakes in return for praying for the occupants’ deceased relatives.
Children would often get involved and also go out and tell jokes or sing for some sweet treats.