GUIDE: How to guarantee the best results on your Halloween trip, and have fun while doing it.
By Andrin Bar, Staff Writer
With Halloween around the corner, stores across the country are beginning to stock up with sweet goodies. But if one wants to get their hands on these sweet treats without forking over their hard earned cash, there is another way, trick or treating.
The origins of Halloween can be traced back 2,000 years to Celtic times. The people living in what is now the United Kingdom and France used to celebrate New Years on the 1st of November. At this time, the summer harvest would end and the dark, cold winter associated with death would begin. The Celts, therefore, believed that on the 31st of October the boundaries between the living and the dead would temporarily blur, allowing the dead to come back for just one night. As such, the Celts celebrated Samhain (pronounced Saawin) to mark the end of harvest season and the beginning of death. Because the boundary between living and dead was blurred, the dead could wreak havoc on the poor farmers crops. They also thought that druids and priests could tell each others fortunes thanks to the presence of the otherworldly, and when they did this, they would often wear costumes. They would sacrifice animals and crops to their gods in order to please them.
Nowadays, Halloween has changed a bit. We don’t have priests that tell our fortunes, and the only thing we sacrifice is our hard earned money.
Yet, Halloween has become a serious consumption fest. A quarter of all candy sold annually in the United states is purchased for Halloween, and nowadays everyone is competing to get the most candy before their competitors can even blink. If someone wants the most candy, they are going to need to know all the tricks to get the most treats. So, how does one get their hands on the grub?
The first trick is to bring a big bag. Time spent out trick-or-treating is directly limited by one’s ability to carry their earnings. A pillow case or garbage bag is recommended for this, as it gives you a large bag for maximum time outside. They could also be incorporated into a costume. The costume on Halloween is the most important tool in a candy-hunters arsenal. If a costume appears well made, and it appears the wearer has put extreme attention and time into making it, then they will get more candy. This is because people will see that Halloween is a serious ritual for this person, bringing joy into the old folks earning you a full size Milky-Way bar.
Because, on Halloween, everyone is competing for a limited supply of candy, the early bird gets the gummy worm. Trick-or-treating usually starts at 5:30, but this is usually just for younger kids, so avoid starting so soon. A recommended time is 6:00-6:30. At this point, the younger children will be worn out, allowing the alphas to come out of their holes. This time is usually the most competitive, so traveling light is a must. Avoid bulky costumes such as a robot or a spaceman, as these reduce the speed of travel, thus limiting the number of candy that can be collected. Also avoid costumes that have low visibility, as these are a risk to safety. Because you will be sick of not seeing in front of you, and masks get hot and sticky, you will not actually be wearing the mask for most of your trip, which can ruin the costume.
Another trick is to bring a friend. Trick or treating alone is not impossible, but bringing a friend means there is potential to get twice the amount of loot, and also leads nicely into the final trick: candy trading.
Not everyone likes every candy, and there are some that people prefer. As such, to be successful in candy trading, there are three rules to follow: 1) Bigger is not always better, 2) know the trading partners preferences, and 3) give them what they want and throw in what you don’t want. Rule one is simple, do not trade for something larger if it’s something you don’t want. A large box of Good and Plenty is still not worth trading a handful of gummy worms for, unless the trader actually enjoys Good and Plenty, in this case they are a prime candy trading partner, as they will willingly get scammed out of their good candy for licorice that looks and tastes like a pill. Rule 3 is simple too. Give the person their nut bar, but if it isn’t enough, give them the Dots, Good and Plenty, and licorice in a pile, and trade it for their giant gummy worms. Many people choose to focus on quantity rather than quality in their candy trades, and this can be exploited for your benefit.
So go on out, get some sweets, and dress up in a costume. Know that you are celebrating a tradition as old as the Celts. Get your pillowcase, your creepy clown costume and your flashlight, and stay outside until you’re tired out. Then, go home and enjoy your sweet treat.