Halloween, as we know it now, has evolved over a thousand years of culture. Among the intriguing aspects of Halloween are its costumes. Nowadays, you’ll spot an array of costumes, from firefighters and football players to clowns and scary monsters.
In the UK, late October can bring in unpredictable season changes.
Shorter days, colder weather, and the need for more food before winter were all connected to Halloween. Also, people believed that ghosts came back to Earth on Halloween. So, our European ancestors faced a problem: they had to go out in the dark, but they were scared of ghosts.
Their solution was to disguise themselves when leaving home. Early Halloween costumes were more about staying safe than having fun, unlike today’s costumes. They were often made of animal skins to look like wild animals rather than humans.
Another popular option was to wear scary masks.
The idea behind wearing a scary mask was that if you met a ghost, the ghost would see your mask and think you were also a ghost.
Halloween easily spread to America during Colonial times because the seasons are similar to the UK. Native American influence added a new aspect to American Halloween costumes.
People began using face paint and different animal skins in their costumes. Since then, Halloween costumes have changed with the cultures they’re a part of, which leads to various types of costumes in modern times.
It’s uncertain what Halloween costumes will be like in the future.
