Looking back in this history blog at the popular culture view of Halloween and the tradition of the trick or treat activity one would believe this has been in place for centuries. However, the truth of the matter is, the trick or treat tradition only arrived in the U.S. in the 1920s and failed to make much of a foothold in the nation over the next two decades. A combination of movies and comics came together to make sure the Halloween holiday as we know it survived and prospered to the modern-day.
When did the tradition of trick or treating begin in the U.S.? Most experts point to the West Coast in the 1920s as the first attempt to bring the tradition of asking for candy at a neighbors door to the U.S. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the activity was undertaken throughout the western half of the nation. All seemed set fair for Halloween and its traditions until the outbreak of World War II and the introduction of rationing. One of the first problems for U.S. consumers was the fact the rationing of sugar began early in the conflict because most sugars came from the Philippines.
The global conflict of World War II almost brought an end to the traditions of Halloween as we know them but the popularity of the Holiday was maintained by a combination of Disney and various comic books. Despite the global conflict coming to an end in 1945, the issue of sugar rationing did not end until 1947 and was quickly followed by a return to trick or treating in October of the same year. Many comics and children’s books took advantage of the return to popularity of Halloween and free access to candy to bring instructions on how to trick or treat to American children. The main reasons for the surge in Halloween popularity were the articles included in popular titles of 1947, Jack and Jil and Children’s Activities.
Halloween finally broke completely into the mainstream with the work of the cartoonists, Charles Schultz and Walt Disney. In 1951, the Peanuts comic began the road towards the modern Halloween traditions when the characters went trick or treating over three daily strips from October 29-31 of the year. 1952 was the year many experts believe the Halloween tradition of trick or treating was brought to the mainstream of American homes by the Disney animators in the eight-minute short animation, Donald Duck – Trick or Treat. The short animation pitted a trick seeking Donald Duck against his nephews Huey, Louis, and Dewey under the watchful eye of Witch Hazel. Without the classic short from Disney, it is unclear to the writers of this history blog whether Halloween as we know it would have been celebrated each year.
