by Todd Christian

Created on: March 25, 2009   Last Updated: September 10, 2009

Whether meant to appease mischievous wandering souls or to pay strangers for extra prayers for departed loved ones, the history of trick-or-treating on Halloween is as colorful and varied as a child's haul of sugary treats.

Today, Halloween is about stockpiling sweets and raking in the profits. According to the National Retail Federation's 2005 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, Americans spent $2.1 billion on Halloween candy in 2005 to "treat" the estimated 3.8 million costumed kids who hit the trick-or-treat hot spots.

But hundreds of years ago, the traditions that would become Halloween were anything but commercial. Ties to the modern holiday can be found in the ancient Celtic feast of Samhain, which was held on Nov. 1. It was a time when the Celts believed the wall that separated our world from the supernatural world became very thin - thin enough that spirits were able to cross over at will and wander freely.

In fear that some not-so-friendly ghosts would try to return to the homes they left behind, villagers would place plates of fine foods, fruits and nuts on their doorsteps as an offering. But there was still one problem - finding a way to stay safe in a world filled with the wandering dead. The solution was to fit in with the ghouls by putting on a spooky costume.

The tradition spread and even continued long after the influence of the Christian church began to spread. In the 7th century, Pope Boniface IV created All Saints Day to honor saints and martyrs - and to replace the pagan tradition of Samhain. Although originally designated as May 13, it was moved to Nov. 1. Merriam Webster recognizes the word "hallow" as an obsolete word meaning "saint," making the evening before All Saints Day "All Hallows Eve."

Eventually, the church in England discouraged the superstitious food-on-the-stoop gesture and instead came up with the tradition of "souling," in which beggars would wander from one village to the next begging for "soul cakes" - a bread-like treat. They promised to exchange a prayer for the generous one's dead relatives for each soul cake received, thereby helping their spirits escape limbo and find faster passage to Heaven.

The Puritans who first came to the United States were strictly against the practice of celebrating Halloween, but the rush of immigrants that followed them in the 1800s revived it, beginning to dress up and go door-to-door for treats (or money) sometime in the middle part of the century. By 1900, due to the clashes between strict religious factions and Halloween traditionalists, the holiday lost any ties to religion and became a day of treats, costumes and playing make-believe.

It wasn't until the late 1940s and 1950s that the tradition of trick-or-treating spread across the entire country. It grew in the decades that followed into the multi-million (and now billion) dollar industry that it is today.

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