by Paul Ciavardini

Created on: October 30, 2009

Second only to Christmas and birthdays, Halloween has always been my favorite event. More than the parties, costumes, and candy, the act of trick-or-treating, for me, is the highlight of the holiday. Till the age of 20, I have religiously filled my pillowcase with pounds of delicious tooth rotting sugar treats. At 16, I often got double takes from people when I shouted those three wonderful words, and by the time I reached adulthood, many people would ask my age, or even refuse to deliver the goods. Although generally people in my community found noting wrong with me and my two friends trick-or-treating, there are still people out there that frown at teenagers uttering "trick or treat" To respond I have come up with 3 reasons why there should not be a cut off age for trick or treating.

Reason 1: Tradition

One of the main reasons that people find older people trick or treating as deplorable is because they feel it is traditional for only children to trick-or-treat. What they do not understand is that the origins of Trick or treating don't just stem down to children going door to door for sweets. In fact, the modern day Halloween tradition of tick-or-treating traces back to medieval times. On Hallowmas, poor people would participate in the practice of "souling", where they would go door to door receiving food in exchange for prayers for the dead. The concept of going door to door for candy is not even 100 years old, if people really want a truly "traditional" trick-or treat, not only should adults be allowed to participate, people would need to start handing out food instead of candy. If anyone tells you it's traditional for only the children to trick-or-treat, ask them why they aren't handing out food, or offering prayers to the dead.

Reason 2: Assistance for younger children

I recall taking my younger sister trick-or-treating when I was 17. She was too young to go out on her own, so we went out together to gather sweets. It was a fun and rewarding experience to hold out a bag online side her, after screaming trick or treat. If there were a cut off age for tick or treating (particularly one at 14 or younger) there would be a lot of younger siblings without responsible companions. Although it is ideal for parents to go with younger children, many are busy and cannot assist. If teenagers are not allowed to fill their bags, there is less incentive for them to assist younger trick-or-treaters, and it is very important to be with someone responsible on Halloween.

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