Trick or treat “Halloween”

This post is for Jordan and Josh “Happy Halloween” and all the other children that may look at postings in photoblog.

I added the information so cultures that may not be familiar with Halloween understand.

Halloween, or Hallowe'en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, Halloween festivals, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses" and viewing horror films. Halloween originated from the Pagan festival Samhain, celebrated among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century. Halloween is now celebrated in several parts of the western world, most commonly in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom.

Children get dressed up in costumes and spend the evening "trick-or-treating" in their neighborhoods. Children are also known to play tricks on their neighbors, such as "knock-a-dolly," a prank in which children knock on the doors of their neighbors, but run away before the door is opened or “Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat”

Upon receiving trick-or-treaters, the house occupants (who might also be in costume) often hand out small candies, miniature chocolate bars, loose change, soda pop, stickers, or even crayons and pencils.

UNICEF"'Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" has become a common sight during Halloween in North America the program involves the distribution of small boxes by schools to trick-or-treaters, in which they can solicit small change donations from the houses they visit. It is estimated that children have collected more than $119 million (US) for UNICEF since its inception.