The Evolution of Halloween Costumes
Halloween is assumed to have been around in some form for the last 2,000 years. During this time costumes have been one of the main highlights for the festivities. However, the costumes that we have today are vastly different from the costumes that the Celts had 2,000 years ago when they established the ancient origins of this holiday.
Why Do We Dress Up for Halloween?
The tradition of dressing up for Halloween comes from a tradition that the Celt’s had with Samhain. Samhain was considered the time where the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. Many Celts believed that during this night, ghosts could pass through the veil into our world and cause mischief, or attack people that they felt wronged them. In addition to ghosts, demons, witches, and the fae could traverse into our world. The Celts would leave food and drink outside to appease the spirits. The Celts would then dress up like the fae, ghosts, demons, and witches to hide from the evil entities.
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The Victorians lived in a highly scientific time with the Industrial Revolution taking place, and great scientists like Charles Darwin coming up with the Theory of Natural Selection. The Victorians often sought out solace in simpler things such as folklore and wanted to feel more connected to nature. Instead of worrying about scientific innovations, the Victorians chose to lose themselves in masquerades. Masquerades are elaborate parties where all in attendance where masks and costumes to conceal their identities. Halloween was the night that most masquerades were hosted because it was the first official holiday that fell after individuals returned from their summer homes. Costumes during this time were inspired by different and exotic cultures. Many costumes were homemade while some of the more wealthy society would hire tailors and seamstresses to take care of their costume
La dia de los Muertos dates back to as early as the maya and aztec days, nearly 3,000 years ago. “The Aztecs didn’t fear death. They believed the way a person died determines their type of afterlife.” (Sarah Massey) Families place alters in their homes with favorite foods of the deceased people, sugar skulls with their name on it, special possessions of the loved ones, and Pan de Muerto (bread of the dead). On the altar are four special elements, water, wind, fire, and earth. Candles represent fire, food represents the earth. Halloween dates back to the celt days, about 2,000 years ago. They lived in what now is known as Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. They gathered on October 31st to celebrate the end of the harvest season. The celts believed that spirits roamed the earth on this night. Celts out food out for the spirits, this was the first form of trick or treating. Some dressed up as the dead to scare away the spirits. They carved turnips and put candles in them to make lanterns. This tradition continued when the immigrants came to America, but pumpkins were easier to find so they carved pumpkins. They swapped scary stories and had a big feast. Roman Catholics began to celebrate All Hallows’ day on November 1st, October 31st became All Hallows’ Eve, later shortened to
The fear of Halloween can stem from a dislike or fear of the holiday's history. The root word of samhainophobia is Samhain, which is a Celtic word meaning summer’s end. They celebrated Samhain with huge bonfires where crops and animals were sacrificed. The Celts believed that on Samhain the veil between the land of the living and dead was thin, which allowed for ghost, spirits, and the devil himself to pass through to the land of the living. It was also believed the Druids-the Celts priest-could predict the future on Samhain. The Celts wore costumes both as disguises and for performing the sacrifices at the bonfires. Eventually Rome conquered the
Purpose: To inform the audience of how Halloween started and transformed to what it is now.
Imagine if Halloween as we know it was entirely different? What if Halloween colors were green and yellow instead of orange and black? Well, orange and black are the main colors of Halloween because death is mostly represented through the color black. Like at a ceremony for a person who has passed on. Orange traditionally represents harvest where the Celtics lived, such as England, Scotland, Ireland, and northern France, is where the ancient Celtic people lived. On October 31st, or the eve of the Celtic’s new year, they thought that the world of the dead and the living merged. In 800 AD, Halloween we know today began, and Christians finally reached the Celts. The Christians sought out to Celts’ Samhain festival (pronounced
Halloween is believed to come from Celtic rituals. The Celts lived over 2000 years ago, and were found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France. The Celts celebrated
C. Thesis Statement: Going from what the meaning of Halloween is in America today and looking back at it’s roots, it has evolved dramatically. And just recently we have been seeing a comeback from one of those roots, but do we know it’s real cultural significance?
[3]During, Samhain (sow-in), the tribal people would pay tribute to their conquerors and then the ancient mounds might reveal the magnificent palaces of the gods of the underworld. differences as well. Basically, both the festival of Samhain (sow-in) and our present day Halloween involved costumes and they were both celebrated in the fall. The differences, however, outnumber the similarities. Costumes had change from a disguise that was terrifying to the eye and fearful to costumes made in a factory somewhere that is sometimes at an outrageous price. Girls costumes have changed the most, they used to cover your whole body to something skimpy and ridiculous. For example, a sexy Donald Trump costume….it even sounds ridiculous. In Conclusion, Halloween has changed over the years but some traditions have remained the same but not for the same
First is the history of Halloween all according to a 2017 article from LiveScience by Benjamin Radford. Around 2,000 years ago in the United Kingdom Ireland, and the northern part of France the people called the Celts started this holiday. They called it Samhain back then instead of Halloween. November 1st marked their new year which resulted in them celebrating on October 31st. The New Year brought wintertime which to them meant death. On the night before winter which was October 31st, they believe that the spirits of the Dead came back. They wore costumes, put on bonfires, burned crops and sacrificed animals. When the Romans
The reason why we celebrate Halloween because people believe it originates from the celtic pagan
A. For example according to journalist Smith, Natalie, Halloween dates back to about 2000 years ago to a festival called Samhain which was celebrated by the Celts. B. Also because of the Celts being believers of the death, it was a much respected celebration that had a serious meaning behind it. C. Furthermore with the expansion of Christianity
Halloween originated as a time to remember the dead. Some take this aspect of Halloween very seriously. This brings the first type of costume at a party, the Spooky. These can be zombies, vampires, witches, mummies, Frankenstein, and of course creepy
The Celts were celebrated Halloween by sacrificing animals and wearing the animals’ heads and also pelts. The Celts put out the other fires, for a big ceremonial fire. The ceremonial fire was relit by the Druids, after the fire was put out. This was tradition was started back in 4000b.c. The animals they sacrificed were birds.
Furthermore, there are many traditional rituals and superstitions associated with Halloween. Since the ancient Celts thought the nonliving roamed the earth, they created costumes out of animal pelts to ward off evil spirits. Fortunetelling and the utilization of large bonfires for sacrifices and purification were also early customs. After the Christianization of the holiday to commemorate saints and martyrs, the same festivities, bonfires, and guising remained, but October 31st was renamed All-Hallows Eve. This inevitably turned into Halloween. Similar to European traditions, America’s Halloween has also evolved throughout the years. Halloween’s recognition was originally restricted in colonial America due to its non-Christian beliefs and practices, and it was practiced at a more local level. According to an online source, “The first celebrations included ‘play parties,’ public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead and tell each other’s fortunes, dance, and sing” (“History of Halloween”). Festivities were akin to European traditions, but also included ghost stories and pranking. Beginning in the twentieth century, Halloween
Halloween comes from an ancient Celtic festival where people would wear costumes to ward off ghosts.
Many people ask me why I don’t celebrate Halloween and here is the reason why. The word Halloween dates to around 1700-1800s and is of Christian origin. It means holly evening, which comes from the Scottish term (The evening before all hallows day). Development of artifacts and symbols affiliated with Halloween formed over time.