While gold plays an important role in Asia at weddings, in India for example, and at major festivities such as Chinese New Year, in the West it is more the Christmas season that comes dressed in gold: from tinsel to Christmas tree baubles. At Halloween, people tend to think of black and orange, even though this year conservative lifestyle websites such as MarthaStewart.com are promoting gold instead of orange for decorations and Halloween costumes. The real connection between gold and Halloween, however, goes back to the origins of the holiday, specifically to the 15th century.
Souling: the origin of trick or treat
The custom of going from door to door in costume and asking for gifts originated in Ireland and neighboring countries. Souling also enjoyed a certain popularity early on in German-speaking countries, particularly in Bavaria and Austria. The people who went souling were generally very poor. They prayed for the deceased in the households they visited and traditionally received so-called soul cakes in return. Wealthy homeowners, however, often gave the poor money as well, and some even gave the highly coveted gold coins, which had been used as official currency since 550 B.C.
Halloween: a re-import from the US
Overseas, souling evolved over the centuries into today's playful custom, in which children use the battle cry “Trick or Treat” to demand sweets of all kinds from homeowners. In Germany, the call is “Süßes, sonst gibt es Saures!”. The custom has become popular again in Europe in recent decades, as has the celebration of Halloween itself. Even dressing up in spooky costumes at Halloween originally comes from Europe: People feared being plagued by ghosts while souling and therefore dressed as frighteningly as possible. Halloween, and with it trick-or-treating, has returned to its origins, at least geographically.