Halloween traditions in D.C. have come a long way over the past 125 years, maturing from youthful mischief to organized citywide celebration.
What the holiday used to be like
Boys and girls in the 19th century had different ideas about Halloween fun. The girls attended private parties to find their future husbands while the young boys created mischief, according to the Washington Post Historical database. In 1887, a mule escaped from its owner’s yard and killed a woman after a few young boys threw flour in its eyes, the Washington Post historical database said.
Decades later, D.C. celebrated its first documented Halloween street festival in 1925, according to Kathryn Ray, an American University reference librarian.
“Orderly was the word used to describe the scene,” Ray said in an email. “The police chose not to enforce the regulations prohibiting wearing disguises in public.”
Trick-or-treat tradition begins
The significant amount of pranks led to the current community-based trick-or-treating tradition as an alternative to young people’s mischief, according to History.com.
Although trick-or-treating did not become popular until the 1930s, the earliest reference of the practice was in a November 1927 edition of Canadian newspaper The Blackie, according to Smithsonian.
However, the practice stopped during World War II due to sugar rations, but has since returned and become more popular than ever, according to Smithsonian.com.
D.C. college students create their own Halloween traditions
Georgetown formerly served as a hot-spot for D.C. college students until the District increased the amount of policeman on M St. due to large crowds in 1989, The Eagle previously reported.
After the increase in police force discouraged students from venturing to Georgetown, many began trick-or-treating on Embassy Row, according to CBS.com. Some have even considered this to be a “rite of passage” for D.C. college students.
“Trick-or-treating along Washington D.C.’s Embassy Row is a great annual tradition that American University students take part in every year,” AU Ambassador Nick Blake said to AU Ambassadors.
The embassies of Indonesia, South Korea, Ireland and Haiti open their doors Halloween night, Blake said. However, the rumor that embassies give away free alcohol each year is merely a ploy to get college students to trick-or-treat on Embassy Row, according to the Washington Post.
