The American tradition of Trick or Treating dates back to groups of
druids who on one night a year would travel from house to house asking
for "donations" of particular food items for their strange
diets, virgins for sacrifice, etc. (These were the treats.) If the homeowner
refused the druids would kill everyone in the house. (The trick.)
Hallowe'en has been strongly pushed in New Zealand by The Warehouse
but after a poor sales year in 2002 they rethought their commitment
to it and did not push it in 2003. In more recent years they have been pushing it again.
For more info see Hallowe'en in the
main listing.
Although often used as a synonym for Christmas, Yule is actually a
pagan festival held at winter solstice, or December 21, celebrating
the sun and the power of the gods, Odin in particular.
The idea of a Yule log comes from the ancient Scandinavians, who would
burn a specially prepared log (the bigger the better) over the solstice
period to ward off demonic attacks and gain the blessing of the gods.
The log had to be freshly cut, and would be annointed with various household
substances such as oil and salt. After special prayers were said over
it, lighting it was the job of the young girls of the family using pieces
from the previous year's log. (This unlit portion was also supposed
to protect the house from lightning during the year.) After cast iron
stoves became popular the Yule log became a much smaller log decorated
with candles and greenery and used as a table centrepiece during Christmas.