Editing Trick-or-treating (section)

==Local variants==

===United States and Canada===
Children of both the [[St Louis Missouri|St. Louis, Missouri]], and [[Des Moines Iowa|Des Moines, Iowa]], areas are expected to perform a joke, usually a simple Halloween-themed pun or riddle, before receiving any candy; this "trick" earns the "treat".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Palazzolo|first1=Joe|title=Did You Hear the One About Frankenstein's Ghoul Friend?|url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/in-st-louis-trick-or-treaters-tell-jokes-to-earn-halloween-candy-1414722601|access-date=14 November 2014|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=October 31, 2014}}</ref> In addition, trick-or-treating in the Des Moines area is arranged on a different night preceding Hallowing, known as [[Beggars Night|Beggar's night]], with the expectation it will reduce mischief and keep children safer from adult parties and drunk driving that may occur on Halloween proper.

In some parts of Canada, children sometimes say "Halloween apples" instead of "trick or treat". This probably originated when the toffee apple was a popular type of candy. Apple-giving in much of Canada, however, has been taboo since the 1960s when stories (of almost certainly questionable authenticity) appeared of razors hidden inside Halloween apples; parents began to check over their children's fruit for safety before allowing them to eat it. In [[Quebec]], children also go door to door on Halloween. However, in French-speaking neighbourhoods, instead of "Trick or treat", they will simply say "Halloween", though it traditionally used to be "''La charité, s'il-vous-plaît''" ("Charity, please").<ref>[https://archive.today/20120907033431/http://www.provincequebec.com/archives-and-sources/halloween-in-quebec/ Halloween in Quebec]. provincequebec.com</ref>

====Trunk-or-treat====
{{main|Trunk-or-treating}}
[[File:Halloween Trunk-or-Treat.jpg|thumb|Trunk-or-treating event held at [[John the Apostle|St. John]] [[Lutheran Church]] & [[Preschool|Early Learning Center]] in [[Darien, Illinois]]|284x284px]]
Some organizations around the United States and Canada sponsor a "[[Trunk (car)|trunk]]-or-treat" on [[Halloween night]] (or, on occasion, a day immediately preceding Halloween, or a few days from it, on a weekend, depending on what is convenient). Trunk-or-treating is done from parked car to parked car in a local parking lot, often at a school or church. The activity makes use of the open trunks of the cars, which display candy, and often games and decorations. Some parents regard trunk-or-treating as a safer alternative to trick-or-treating,<ref>{{cite web |title=Safe Kids Worldwide |url=http://www.safekids.org/sites/default/files/documents/ResearchReports/halloween-research-report.pdf}}</ref> while other parents see it as an easier alternative to walking the neighborhood with their children.

This annual event began in the mid-1990s as a "fall festival" for an alternative to trick-or-treating, but became "trunk-or-treat" two decades later. This change was primarily due to "discomfort with some of Halloween's themes."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lecci |first=Stephanie |date=October 31, 2013 |title=A New Way To Do Halloween: Chocolate Chunks In The Trunk |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/10/31/241642597/a-new-way-to-do-halloween-chocolate-chunks-in-the-trunk |access-date=June 29, 2024 |website=NPR}}</ref> Some churches and church leaders have attempted to connect with the cultural phenomenon of Halloween, viewing it as an opportunity for cultural engagement with the Gospel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stetler II |first=Darrell |date=August 22, 2023 |title=Trunk or Treat Planning for Churches: A Step-by-Step Guide |url=https://www.newstartdiscipleship.com/post/trunk-or-treat-planning-for-churches-a-step-by-step-guide |access-date=June 28, 2024 |website=NewStart Discipleship Resources, LLC}}</ref> But some have called for more city or community group-sponsored trunk-or-treats, so they can be more inclusive.<ref>[http://www.standard.net/topics/opinion/2010/10/11/trunk-or-treat-doesnt-include-all-children "'Trunk or treat' doesn't include all children"], ''[[Standard Examiner]]'', October 11, 2010 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209184427/http://www.standard.net/topics/opinion/2010/10/11/trunk-or-treat-doesnt-include-all-children |date=December 9, 2014 }}</ref> By 2006 these had become increasingly popular.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/31/nyregion/31treat.html?_r=0| title = Santos, Fernanda. "Trunk or Treat! Halloween Tailgating Grows"| newspaper = The New York Times| date = 31 October 2006| last1 = Santos| first1 = Fernanda}}</ref>

=== Portugal and Iberian Peninsula ===
In [[Portugal]], children go from house to house on All Saints Day and All Souls Day, carrying pumpkin carved lanterns called [[Coco (folklore)|coca]],<ref>Manuel de Paiva Boléo, Universidade de Coimbra. Instituto de Estudos Românicos. Revista portuguesa de filologia – Volume 12 – Página 745 – 1963</ref> asking everyone they see for [[Pão-por-Deus]] singing rhymes where they remind people why they are begging, saying "...It is for me and for you, and to give to the deceased who are dead and buried"<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.uc.pt/fluc/eclassicos/publicacoes/ficheiros/BEC46/02_-_Grego_-_LNazare.pdf| title = A canção ródia da andorinha}}</ref> or "It is to share with your deceased"<ref>{{cite web| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0YoDAAAAYAAJ&dq=pedintes+%22fieis+de+deus%22&pg=PA177| title = Revista dos Açores, Volume 1 Sociedade Auxiladora das Lettras Açorianas| year = 1851}}</ref> In the [[Azores]] the bread given to the children takes the shape of the top of a skull.<ref>[http://museus.azores.gov.pt/ficheiros/jornal/532007192254.pdf Intermuseus Dezembro 2006 nº 7 Direcção Regional da Cultura] {{webarchive|url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20080311205521/http%3A//museus.azores.gov.pt/ficheiros/jornal/532007192254.pdf |date=2008-03-11 }}</ref> The tradition of pão-por-Deus was already recorded in the 15th century.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZrUGAAAAQAAJ&dq=dia+dos+fieis+defuntos&pg=PA265| title = Elucidario das palavras, termos e frases, que em Portugal antigamente se usárão..., Volume 1| year = 1865}}</ref> In [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], particularly in the island of [[A Illa de Arousa]], a similar tradition exists where children ask for alms (usually bread, sweets, fruits, chestnuts, money or small toys) with the phrase "unha esmoliña polos defuntiños que van alá" ("a little charity for the little deceased who are there").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/arousa/2022/11/03/span-langglunha-limosnina-os-difuntinosspan-origen-tradicional-truco-trato/0003_202211A3C3991.htm|title="Unha limosnina os difuntiños": the origin of the traditional "Trick or Treat"|date=November 3, 2022|access-date=}}</ref>

=== Scandinavia ===
In [[Sweden]], children dress up as witches and monsters when they go trick-or-treating on [[Maundy Thursday]] (the Thursday before Easter) while [[Denmark|Danish]] and [[Faroe Islands|Faroese]] children dress up in various attires and go trick-or-treating on [[Fastelavn]] (or the next day, [[Shrove Monday]]). In Norway, the practice is quite common among children, who come dressed up to people's doors asking for, mainly, candy. The Easter witch tradition is done on [[Palm Sunday]] in Finland ([[virvonta]]).

=== Europe ===
In parts of [[Flanders]], some parts of the [[Netherlands]], and most areas of [[Germany]], [[Switzerland]], and [[Austria]], children go to houses with home-made [[Beetroot|beet]] [[Lantern|lanterns]] or with paper lanterns (which can hold a candle or electronic light), singing songs about [[Martin of Tours|St. Martin]] on [[St. Martin's Day]] (the 11th of November), in return for treats.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/A17953608 |title=St Martin's Day |publisher=H2g2.com |date=2007-01-13 |access-date=2012-10-10}}</ref>   Over the last decade, Halloween trick-or-treating has experienced a notable surge in popularity, particularly among children and teenagers in Germany. Austria and the Netherlands have also witnessed a similar trend. The equivalent of 'trick-or-treat' in the German language is 'Süßes oder Saures,' which translates to asking for sweets or threatening something less pleasant, with the direct translation being "sweet or sour".

In Northern Germany and Southern Denmark, children dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating on New Year's Eve in a tradition called "{{ill|Rummelpott|de|Rummelpottlaufen|vertical-align=sup}}".<ref>Christian Roy [https://books.google.com/books?id=IKqOUfqt4cIC&dq=Rummelpott&pg=PA52 Traditional festivals: a multicultural encyclopedia, Volume 2]</ref> Rummelpott has experienced a massive decrease in popularity over recent decades, although some towns and communities are trying to revive it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=NDR |title=Rummelpott: Eine alte Tradition wird in Horst wiederbelebt |url=https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein/Rummelpott-eine-alte-Tradition-wird-in-Horst-wiederbelebt,rummelpott114.html |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=www.ndr.de |language=de}}</ref>