gloaming \GLOH-ming\, noun: Twilight; dusk.

This word is fitting, right? It's Halloween. Our sweet little trick or treaters will be going door to door, at dusk, with their expectant faces and their open bags to receive their eclectic array of goodies and treats. But where did this whole trick-or treating thing come from? Apparently the "trick" part goes back to an English tradition of celebrating "Mischief Night" on November 4th where light-hearted tricks were perpetrated by children on adults, like leaving the garden gate open. Here, in Detroit, we celebrate this too. Teenagers go out on Devil's Night and rub soap wax on cars, or throw eggs at houses or even start small (or large) fires. All in good fun, right? Ok, so growing up here, I assumed everyone had some form of Devil's Night. Imagine my surprise when I looked up Halloween in Wikipedia and Detroit, Michigan is actually listed under "Traditions" for it's unique celebration of Halloween eve. Apparently we hold this honor all to ourselves. So what about the treats? As best I can tell this tradition began as basically a bribe to get kids to stop the tricks. ("Here's a chocolate bar so make sure to close that garden gate" or "Here's a lollipop, so please put out that fire", as the case may be.) Fortunately today , Halloween is mostly about the treats and I look forward to the big bags of candy arriving home tonight. (Am I the only one who peruses the bags after they fall asleep, searching for my favorites? Shhhh.......)