Trick or treating arrived in America in the 1910s, and previously was basically a Scottish thing. Early on many cities banned it as a form of extortion of homeowners and as facilitating vandalism. https://twitter.com/trekonomics/status/1322393853438013442

Even then, it does not appear it became a really popular holiday until the 1950s after a pretty coordinated push in TV and Hollywood to promote it in the late 40s and 50s.

Contrary to absurd mythologies locating Halloween in “Samhain”, in fact Halloween as we know it is a 20th century invention. Even earlier British traditions like “souling” or “guising” date time the 1400s at the absolute earliest.

There is basically no evidence of anything like Halloween happening on any appreciable scale before the Renaissance.

And when you think of it as an overgrown Renaissance masque suddenly the holiday makes more sense!

In the US, the earliest dated costumed door-to-door begging activities were actually associated with THANKSGIVING, as people in some areas used to dress as poor beggars (or in some areas Native Americans) and go door to door asking for treats on that holiday.

In sum:

Halloween’s supposed association with paganism is basically fake

It actually arises with WASPs threatened by immigration trying to repristinate a Renaissance British holiday

It was controversial from Day 1.

Personally I think dressing up and going door to door as a kid was pretty fun. And I love candy. However I do think on the whole it’s a dumb holiday and worth replacing.