How did the custom of giving away teats get started?

Answer 1

People wanted to keep abreast of what was going on for Halloween.

Answer 2

Oh now I see... you purposefully misspell words so people will find humor in your questions. Thank you for putting a smile on some faces (including mine).

I honestly didnt know that teats were given out. Things have changed since I was a kid.

Answer 3

Halloween, origionally known as Samhain (pronounced Sow-en), dates back to the ancient Celts who lived 2,000 years ago. Samhain is a Celtic word meaning "summer's end". The Celts, like many other cultures, saw the dark of the day or year as the beginning and not the end of the seasonal cycle. Thus their days began at sunset, not sun rise and the wheel of the year begins at summers end; Samhain.

Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. Fires were lit to honor the descending Sun. On the eve of Samhain, the gates of the Abyss were unlocked and spirits from below flew free. Human souls that had been trapped were released and sent to their new incarnations.

In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

"Trick-or-treating" is a modern American tradition that probably finds it's roots in the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives. The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as "going a-souling" was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

"Dressing up" for Halloween gets it roots from dressing up around the sacred bonfire during the original Celtic festival. Some suggest this practice originates from England, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world on Halloween. People thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes, so to avoid being recognized people would wear masks after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. In addition, these early English people, would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter or cause harm to their homes.

Answer 4

If its ticks or teats then give me the teats anyday.

Answer 5

Somewhere in america - i think there was a tradition of sharing out sweets which ended up as nasty little brats bothering people for sweets dressed up as monsters and if they didn't get any they would egg the windows

Answer 6

Halloween started ages ago when the harvest came in for farmers and they had loads of food left over
they used to have big parties to get rid of all the extra food and gave it away.
Thats where it started~

Answer 7

You get beads if you show your teats, but that's another holiday altogether

Answer 8

someones giving away TEATS?!?! sign me up!

Answer 9

well, when presented with the options of "trick" or "teat", most chose teats.

Answer 10

YAAAY, the second unintentionally hilarious typo I've seen this morning (another used "molars" instead of "morals")!

Well, if someone's giving away free titties, count me in!