Whether you’re a planner and go all out or leave your Halloween costume until the last minute, costumes are the very thing that make Halloween…well, Halloween. But do you know where the tradition of dressing up comes from? Maria Caamaño has the story.
AS OCTOBER NEARS ITS END AND HALLOWEEN FASTLY APPROACHES, THERE IS ALWAYS THAT ONE QUESTION PEOPLE ASK: SO, WHAT ARE YOU GONNA BE FOR HALLOWEEN?
WHETHER YOU ARE A PLANNER AND GO ALL OUT OR LEAVE YOUR HALLOWEEN COSTUME UNTIL LAST MINUTE, COSTUMES ARE THE VERY THING THAT MAKES HALLOWEEN…WELL, HALLOWEEN. BUT DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE TRADITION COMES FROM?
THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN COSTUMES STARTS IN THE ANCIENT CELTIC FESTIVAL OF SAMHAIN (SOW-IN) 2,000 YEARS AGO IN WHAT IS NOW PART OF THE UK, IRELAND AND NORTHERN FRANCE – ACCORDING TO HISTORY.COM. THIS WAS THE CELEBRATION FOR THE CELTIC NEW YEAR, WHICH STARTED ON NOVEMBER 1ST.
THE DAY WAS SUPPOSED TO MARK THE END OF SUMMER AND START OF WINTER, WHOSE COLD TEMPERATURES OFTEN RESULTED IN DEATHS. THIS MADE THE CELTS THINK THAT, ON OCTOBER 31ST, THE LIVING AND DEAD WERE JOINED FOR A NIGHT AND THE DEAD WOULD BE REUNITED WITH THE LIVING.
WHEN CELEBRATING SAMHAIN, THE CELTS WOULD GATHER AROUND BONFIRES DRESSED IN COSTUMES LIKE ANIMAL HEADS AND SKINS.
BY 43 AD, THE ROMAN EMPIRE HAD CONQUERED WHAT WAS MOST OF CELTIC LAND. COMBINING ROMAN FESTIVITIES AND SAMHAIN, THE HOLIDAY OF FERALIA – WHERE THE ROMANS HONORED THE DEAD – EMERGED.
ON MAY 13, 609 AD, THE HOLIDAY OF ALL MARTYRS DAY WAS ESTABLISHED BY THE POPE IN ROME. THIS DAY WOULD THEN BE MOVED TO NOVEMBER 2ND AND EARN THE NAME OF ALL SOULS DAY BY 1000 AD. CELEBRATED LIKE SAMHAIN, THERE WERE BIG BONFIRES, PARADES AND PEOPLE WHO DRESSED UP LIKE SAINTS, ANGELS AND DEVILS. THE EVENT WAS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS ALL-HALLOWS, AND THE NIGHT BEFORE – THE NIGHT OF WHAT USED TO BE SAMHAIN – WAS KNOWN AS ALL-HALLOWS EVE. THIS WOULD GO ON TO BE REFERRED TO AS WHAT WE NOW KNOW AS HALLOWEEN.
EVENTUALLY, WHEN THIS TRADITION TRAVELED TO COLONIAL NEW ENGLAND WITH IRISH AND SCOTTISH IMMIGRANTS, THE AMERICAN VERSION OF HALLOWEEN BEGAN BY THE MIDDLE OF THE 19TH CENTURY. AMERICANS WOULD START TO WEAR COSTUMES TO CELEBRATE, LIKE IN EUROPEAN TRADITIONS, AND GO FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE ASKING FOR FOOD OR MONEY – WHICH WOULD GO ON TO BE KNOWN AS TRICK-OR-TREATING.
BY THE 1920S AND 30S, HALLOWEEN HAD BECOME A MORE SECULAR AND COMMUNITY-BASED HOLIDAY AND BY THE 50S THE TRADITION OF TRICK-OR-TREATING WOULD BE BROUGHT BACK TO PREVENT THE VANDALISM OF HOMES.
ALTHOUGH THE MAIN POINT OF HALLOWEEN COSTUMES BACK IN THE DAY WAS TO BE COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS THROUGH DISGUISE, NOWADAYS, HALLOWEEN COSTUMES HAVE BECOME A WAY TO SHOW OFF YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOWS, CHARACTERS OR EVEN CELEBRITES.
ACCORDING TO USNEWS.COM, IN 2022, GOOGLE FREIGHTGEIST FOUND THAT THE TOP THREE MOST COMMON SEARCHES FOR HALLOWEEN COSTUMES WERE DINOSAUR IN THIRD PLACE, SPIDER-MAN IN SECOND AND WITCH AS THE NUMBER ONE SEARCH OF THEM ALL.
IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, HOWEVER, THE MOST SEARCHED HALLOWEEN COSTUME AS OF SEPTEMBER 2022 HAD TO DO WITH STRANGER THINGS, THE FAMOUS NETFLIX TV SHOW. SO, IF YOU ARE TRYING TO BE UNIQUE THIS YEAR, MAYBE STRAY AWAY FROM DRESSING UP AS ANY VECNAS OR EDDIES.
WISHING YOU A HAPPY HALLOWEEN, FOR WNUR NEWS, THIS IS MARIA CAAMAÑO.
