The popularity of trick or treating and Halloween has risen Australian for decades.
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Ghosts, ghouls, and goblins turn up exclaiming trick-or-treat. But, why do they ask?
The phrase, according to wonderopolis.org, is a subtle suggestion that if a treat is given the ghost, ghoul or goblin won't perform a trick on the house.
Other websites suggest that trick-or-treating was originally a custom of dressing up in costume and performing a trick in exchange for a treat. To earn a treat children can tell a Halloween pun or riddle, or a joke.
Even earlier traditions show the practice of souling, which is going from door to door on or about All Souls Day (November 2) to solicit gifts of food in return for prayers for the dead.
Halloween etiquette in Australia shows that houses with decorations are happy to accept pranksters or kids asking for sweets.
