The Origin of "Trick or Treat"

Origin of "Trick or Treat"

Do you know where the common Halloween prank of children knocking on doors and shouting "trick or treat" originated?
Linton says: ". . . certainly it comes from pagan times." In Ireland up to the turn of the century, it was customary to have a procession "led by a man in a white robe wearing a horse-head mask." ("The horse was sacred to the Sun God," says Linton, "which indicated that this custom was a survival of a Druid rite.") The procession levied a contribution from the farmers in the perverted name of what probably was an old Druid god. Unless the procession was "treated liberally with gifts, the farmers were "tricked" with the threat of a curse that would ruin next year’s crops!
This traditional custom of having processions at Halloween is further derived from another unusual practice. Wealthy churches during the Middle Ages, copying the ancient Greek and Roman religious processions, paraded the relics of patron saints. The poorer parishes could not afford to buy relics so they used caricatures of their patron saints. "Those who were not playing the parts of the holy ones also wanted to get into the procession and so dressed up as angels or devils. The Allhallows procession around the churchyard eventually became a gay and motley parade. (From page 103 of Halloween Through Twenty Centuries.)
The present day "trick or treat" is but a continuation of these degenerate and absurd customs which came out of paganism and have been labeled with Christian names.
Is it any wonder that children and adults wantonly damage private property—on a day originally dedicated to Satan, the Destroyer?