Did you know that about 20% of American adults pretend not to be home on Halloween? We’ll never know whether it’s because they’re Halloween Scrooges or they just don’t want to buy so much candy, but what we do know is why people love dressing up for Halloween and their favorite costume picks.
What are Halloween’s origins?
Halloween comes mainly from an old Celtic festival called Samhain (Pronounced “saa-win”). They started bonfires and sacrificed animals and crops to the gods in the hope of a good Fall harvest. This ancient holiday goes back 2,000 years and was celebrated in what is now the UK, Ireland, and France.
Also the tradition of Samhain, people would dress up as evil spirits. They believed that on October 31st, the border between their worlds and the one of ghosts and ghouls would fade. The spirits would come to their world and wreak havoc. The Celts dressed up as ghosts to ward them off.
Another contributing holiday was the Roman’s All Saints Day. Very similar to Samhain, it included lighting fires, parades, and dressing up. On the contrary, they would dress up as angels, devils, and saints instead of evil creatures. This holiday happened to be the day after Samhain–on November 1st–after a decision to move it from May 13th.
Given the fact that the Celts were a form of Christianity, All Saint’s Day managed to spread through Celtic culture. These holidays end up mashed into one celebration: All-Hallows Eve, or as we know it, Halloween.
When did Halloween become popular in the U.S.?
When pilgrims started sailing for America in the 1800s, they also brought their festivities. Their old ways of doing things meshed with the Native American and previous settlers’ ways. All Hallow’s Eve became Americanized with new traditions: ghost stories, mischievous pranks, themed parties, and Trick-or-Treating.
However, this new festival was not celebrated all over. Few towns had parades and celebrations. When the Irish Potato Famine hit in the late 19th century, tons of Irish immigrants fled to America. This helped the spread of Halloween massively.
Where do people often get their costume ideas from?
Few customers still go into physical stores to search for costumes. Most view it as time-consuming to drive to a retail store and then continue to sort through costumes for an hour. Others find it nostalgic or enjoyable and a good way to get into the Halloween spirit.
But at the end of the day, the most common way is simply to search online. Adults use social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter. Amongst kids, search engines and posted images are useful. No matter the age, themes never waver. Prevailing ones are favorite movie, book, or TV show characters, something that relates to their personality, funny and scary costumes, and group costumes.
What are relevant classic Halloween costumes?
The first costumes were created from animals that had been hunted. People would clean their skins and wear them like clothes. People still go as various animals, but not too frequently.
A more recent creation is the witch. The origin of witches has lots of different backstories. Many people still dress up as witches or wizards–making them some of the most iconic characters of Halloween. False accusations of witches can be traced back to centuries ago.
Similar to witches are clowns. Clowns have not been around for nearly as long as the witch or animal, but they are still pretty old. They date back to the 19th century—jokers and jesters even further.
A more basic approach is the ghost. Ghosts have been around for almost as long as animal costumes. A lot of people have a fear of ghosts and the paranormal, which is what makes them such a hit on Halloween.
What are the most popular costumes throughout the years?
According to the Garnet & Gold Gazette:
1950s: Cowboy/Native American, Tarzan, Frankenstein, Mickey Mouse, Batman.
1960s: Hula Girl, Sonny and Cher, The Beatles, The Addams Family, Astronaut.
1970s: Elvis Presley, The Brady Bunch, Star Wars, Rocky, Willy Wonka.
1980s: Indiana Jones, E. T., Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, Michael Jackson.
1990s: Back to the Future, The Simpsons, Ghostface, The Spice Girls, Austin Powers.
2000s: Britney Spears, Harry Potter, High School Musical, Spongebob, Lady Gaga.
2010s: Wonder Woman, Frozen, Harley Quinn, Stranger Things, Glee.
Early 2020s: Barbie, Wednesday Addams, Inflatable costumes.
What are popular costumes for 2024?
Our top costume picks can almost always be traced back to what was going on in popular culture at the time. For example, maybe a blockbuster movie came out that year. Then, it is likely people will dress up as characters from that same movie. Or if a pop artist made it big, then you’re going to want to keep your eyes peeled for imitations of them. Keeping that in mind, here are possibilities for this Halloween:
• Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce
• Deadpool/Wolverine
• Despicable Me 4
• Billie Eilish
• President Snow/Lucy Gray Baird
• Donald Trump/Kamala Harris
Why do people enjoy dressing up so much?
People take Halloween as a chance to be someone else. What little kid doesn’t want to pretend to be their favorite superhero for the night? Trick-or-treaters have a chance to be whoever or whatever they want. They can express themselves and their opinions freely. Some view it as a chance to escape reality for a couple of hours.
Halloween is good for people with anxiety about the unknown. They can experience new things–haunted houses and such–within what feels similar to a safe zone. Oftentimes people feel protected when they’re in their costumes.
Those with confidence issues also tend to act with more belief in themselves. They like to be social and try things a different way than their usual. Perhaps, it’s because a lot of costumes can keep you anonymous.
And others simply take it as a chance to have fun. Halloween is for people of all ages. Everyone can find at least one way to enjoy themselves—whether it’s hanging out with those closest to you, eating a ton of candy, or anything else you find exciting about Halloween.
In truth, Halloween can never get old. We’ve been celebrating some version of it for ages and it’s showing no sign of slowing down. Our traditions just keep getting better and more modern. Halloween has adapted to be a key part of our society and one of our favorite holidays. So, make sure you get your costume perfected and ready because Halloween is only a few weeks away!
