Halloween Costumes
The tradition of dressing up in costume for Halloween goes back a long way - although the variety of costumes has changed considerably. Early outfits were, of course, all home made. Commercially produced Halloween costumed appeared on the US market in the 1950s and were popular for trick-or-treating. Since then the scope of the Halloween celebration has grown as has the range of costumes available to buy.Even your baby or toddler can join in the fun, with special junior outfits on sale. But it's not just the kids who enjoy dressing up, Halloween costumes are as much for adults as kids. Both gals and guys dress up - with a surprising number of guys apparently enjoying the excuse to wear drag!
Traditional Costumes
Original pagan costumes tended to be related to the theme and ideas of Samhain - the night when the dead rose and evil walked the earth. Hence demons, witches and other scary creatures were common. These were possibly worn as part of a symbolic acting out of the threat from and eventual defeat of evil. Another suggestion is that people believed that by wearing these costumes they would blend in with the evil forces and be safe. Or maybe the pagans just knew how to have a good party!When the Christian church adopted Samhain as All Hallows Eve, such pagan ideas and costumes were strongly discouraged. Eventually the rules were relaxed to allow dressing up as inspirational characters such as saints. That must have made for a rather dull costume party.
Modern Costumes
Today costumes come in many forms, you can buy everything from traditional spooky themes like skeletons and ghosts through to unusual modern fancy dress outfits such as cartoon characters and - for adults - costume ideas include evil cowgirls and, of course, parodies of politicians.
Topical
Topical outfits are always popular and for 2011 I expect to see a large number of News of the World related costumes and masks here in the UK. Personally I think that the 2012 Olympic games in London deserve the Halloween treatment - perhaps something based on that dreadful logo?In the US the build up to 2012 election year is likely to see even more politicians than normal having their faces used. Exactly which ones depends on your party - political party that is!
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