Halloween costumes are costumes worn on Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31.
Description
Halloween costumes are traditionally based on frightening supernatural or folkloric beings. However, by the 1930s, costumes based on characters from mass media such as film, literature, and radio gained popularity. Halloween costumes have tended to be worn mainly by young people but since the mid-20th century, they have been increasingly worn by adults as well.
An early reference to wearing costumes on Halloween comes from Scotland in 1585. There are many references to the custom during the 18th and 19th centuries in the Celtic countries of Scotland, Ireland, Mann, and Wales. It has been suggested that the custom comes from the Celtic festivals of Samhain and Calan Gaeaf, or from the practice of "souling" during the Christian observance of Allhallowtide. The Christian tradition of acknowledging the danse macabre is also suggested as the origin of dressing up on Halloween.[1][2][3][4] Dressing up is not strictly restricted to Halloween among Christians, with similar practices being observed on holidays like Christmas.[5]
History of Halloween costumes
The fun, enjoyable festivities of wearing costumes on Halloween was believed to be from the idea that paranormal beings and souls from the underworld drifted the earth at this time.
The practice may have originated in a
Christianization of Ireland in the 5th century, some of these customs may have been retained in the Christian observance of All Hallows' Eve in that region—which continued to be called Samhain/Calan Gaeaf—blending the traditions of their ancestors with Christian ones.[6][7] It was seen as a liminal time when the spirits or fairies (the Aos Sí) and the souls of the dead could more easily come into our world.[8] It was believed that the Aos Sí needed to be propitiated
to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter.
From at least the 16th century,
white mare) led youths house-to-house reciting verses—some of which had pagan overtones—in exchange for food. If the household donated food it could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla'; not doing so would bring misfortune.[13] In 19th century England, youths went house-to-house with masked, painted, or blackened faces, often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed.[10] In parts of Wales, men went about dressed as fearsome beings called gwrachod,[10] while in some places, young people cross-dressed.[10] Elsewhere in Europe, mumming and costumes were part of other yearly festivals. However, in the Celtic-speaking regions, they were "particularly appropriate to a night upon which supernatural beings were said to be abroad and could be imitated or warded off by human wanderers".[10]
It has also been suggested that the wearing of Halloween costumes developed from the custom of
danse macabre, which has often been depicted in church decoration.[26] An article published by Christianity Today claimed the danse macabre was enacted at village pageants and at court masques, with people "dressing up as corpses from various strata of society" and suggested this was the origin of Halloween costume parties.[27][28]
The custom of guising at Halloween in North America was first recorded in 1911, when a newspaper in
witches, goblins, trolls, devils, etc., or in more recent years, such science fiction-inspired characters as aliens and superheroes. There are also costumes of pop culture figures like presidents, athletes, celebrities, or characters in film, television, literature, etc. Another popular trend is for women (and, in some cases, men) to use Halloween as an excuse to wear sexy or revealing costumes, showing off more skin than would be socially acceptable otherwise.[33] Young girls often dress as entirely non-scary characters for Halloween, including princesses, fairies, angels, cute animals, and flowers.
Child in a plain white mask
Halloween costume parties generally take place on or around October 31, often on the Friday or Saturday before the holiday. Halloween parties are the 3rd most popular party type held in the United States, falling behind only to Super Bowl and New Year's Eve parties.[34]
Economics of Halloween costumes
[35] Researchers conducted a survey for the National Retail Federation in the United States and found that 53.3% of consumers planned to buy a costume for Halloween 2005, spending $38.11 on average (up $10 from the year before). They were also expected to spend $4.96 billion in 2006, up significantly from just $3.3 billion the previous year.[36] The troubled economy has caused many Americans to cut back on Halloween spending. In 2009, the National Retail Federation anticipated that American households would decrease Halloween spending by as much as 15% to $56.31.[37] In 2013, Americans spent an estimated $6.9 billion to celebrate Halloween, including a predicted $2.6 billion on costumes (with more spent on adult costumes than for children's costumes) and $330 million on pet costumes.[38][39] In 2017, it was estimated that Americans would spend $9.1 billion on Halloween merchandise with $3.4 billion of that towards Halloween costumes.[40] Another survey by NRF showed that 67% of Halloween shoppers would buy Halloween costumes, spending $3.2 billion in 2019.[41] It was estimated that the Halloween spending in 2022 would reach $10.6 billion.[42]
Criticism of Halloween costumes
Halloween costumes in the contemporary Western world sometimes depict people and things from present times and are sometimes read in terms of their political and cultural significance. Halloween costumes are sometimes denounced for
Halloween costumes that borrow and disrespect sacred artefacts including Native American head-dresses or the sexualized habits of Catholic nuns are often seen as additionally offensive.
Sexism
Halloween costumes can also generate controversy through the overt sexualization of many women's costumes,[47] even those intended for young girls. While costumes of various occupations like student, police officer, academia, clergy, or nursing do exist for men, they are often at least relatively accurate to the clothing a male employed in any of the fields would wear.[citation needed] Costumes for females are often far from what would be considered accurate of the clothing worn by women in those fields and focus on the sexualization of the wearer and often the concept portrayed.
. Since the 16th century, costumes have become a central part of Halloween traditions. Perhaps the most common traditional Halloween costume is that of the ghost. This is likely because ... when Halloween customs began to be influenced by Catholicism, the incorporation of the themes of All Hallows' and All Souls' Day would have emphasized visitations from the spirit world over the motifs of spirites and fairies. ... The baking and allowing them to go door to door to collect them in exchange for praying for the dead (a practice called souling), often carrying lanterns made of hollowed-out turnips. Around the 16th century, the practice of going house to house in disguise (a practice called guising) to ask for food began and was often accompanied by recitation of traditional verses (a practice called mumming). Wearing costumes, another tradition, has many possible explanations, such as it was done to confuse the spirits or souls who visited the earth or who rose from local graveyards to engage in what was called a Danse Macabre, basically a large party among the dead.
^Books & Culture: A Christian Review. Christianity Today. 1999. p. 12. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Sometimes enacted as at village pageants, the danse macabre was also performed as court masques, the courtiers dressing up as corpses from various strata of society...both the name and the observance began liturgically as All Hallows' Eve.
. Another contributor to the custom of dressing up at Halloween was the old Irish practice of marking All Hallows' Day with religious pageants that recounted biblical events. These were common during the Middle Ages all across Europe. The featured players dressed as saints and angels, but there were also plenty of roles for demons who had more fun, capering, acting devilish, and playing to the crows. The pageant began inside the church, then moved by procession to the churchyard, where it continued long into the night.
. On the other hand the postmodern phenomenon of "antifashion" is also to be found in some Halloween costumes. Black and orange are a 'must' with many costumes. Halloween – like the medieval danse macabre – is closely connected with superstitions and it might be a way of dealing with death in a playful way.
. Later, it became the custom for poorer Christians to offer prayers for the dead, in return for money or food (soul cakes) from their wealthier neighbours. People would go 'souling' - rather like carol singing - requesting alms or soul cakes: 'A soul, a soul, a soul cake, Please to give us a soul cake, One for Peter, two for Paul, have mercy on us Christians all.'
^Cleene, Marcel. Compendium of Symbolic and Ritual Plants in Europe. Man & Culture, 2002. p.108. Quote: "Soul cakes were small cakes baked as food for the deceased or offered for the salvation of their souls. They were therefore offered at funerals and feasts of the dead, laid on graves, or given to the poor as representatives of the dead. The baking of these soul cakes is a universal practice".
. Retrieved 28 October 2015. The begging ritual, taken up by nonindigents and by children, involved the recitation of a souling rhyme, which typically requested "mercy on all Christian souls for a soul cake."
^"Eve of All Saints", Using Common Worship: Times and Seasons - All Saints to Candlemas (David Kennedy), Church House Publishing, page 42
^Descriptive Analyses of Piano Works (Edward Baxter Perry), Theodore Presser Company, page 276
^Books & Culture. Christianity Today. 1999. p. 12. Sometimes enacted as at village pageants, the danse macabre was also performed as court masques, the courtiers dressing up as corpses from various strata of society...both the name and the observance began liturgically as All Hallows' Eve.
. On the other hand the postmodern phenomenon of "antifashion" is also to be found in some Halloween costumes. Black and orange are a 'must' with many costumes. Halloween - like the medieval danse macabre - is closely connected with superstitions and it might be a way of dealing with death in a playful way.
^Rook, Dennis W. (Dec 1985). "The Ritual Dimension of Consumer Behavior". Journal of Consumer Research (Univ. of Chicago Press) 12 (3): 251–264. Accessed November 14, 2010.
^Rosenbloom, Stephanie (October 19, 2006). "Good Girls Go Bad, for a Day". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
^Lipton, Eric (April 9, 2008). "Official Had Controversial Photos Deleted, Report Says". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2008-04-09."The staff member who won the “most original costume” prize wore a dreadlock wig, what looked like a prison jumpsuit and black face paint. “I’m a Jamaican detainee from Krome — obviously, I’ve escaped,” the employee, referring to a detention center in Miami, announced to the judges..."
"Halloween." In Encyclopedia of the End: Mysterious Death in Fact, Fancy, Folklore, and More. Deborah Noyes, ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2008.
Levinson, Stacey, Stacey Mack, Dan Reinhardt, and Helen Suarez, Grace Yeh (1992)
"Halloween As a Consumption Experience", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research, Volume 19, eds. John F. Sherry, Jr. and Brian Sternthal, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 219-228.
Lherm, Adrien. "Halloween — A 'Reinvented' Holiday." In Celebrating Ethnicity and Nation: American Festive Culture From the Revolution to the Early Twentieth Century. Geneviève Fabre, ed. New York: Berghahn Books, 2001.
Nelson, Adie. "The Pink Dragon Is Female." Psychology Of Women Quarterly 24.2 (2000): 137. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Feb. 2013.
Northrup, Lesley A. Women and Religious Ritual. Washington, D.C.: Pastoral Press, 1993.
Ogletree, Shirley Matile, and Larry Denton. "Age And Gender Differences In Children's
Halloween Costumes." Journal of Psychology 127.6 (1993): 633. Business Source Complete. Web. 9 Feb. 2013.
Rogers, Nicholas. Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Seltzer, Sarah. "Embracing Our Inner Monsters." The New York Times [New York] 28 Oct. 2012: n. pag. Print.
Further reading
Galembo, Phyllis. Dressed for Thrills: 100 Years of Halloween Costumes and Masquerade. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2002.