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Last Updated: Sep 2nd, 2008 - 19:12:01 |
Among the Halloween traditions Americans favor the most, the act of dressing up in costumes is one of the favorites. There is no age limit to disguising yourself and in fact, the adults started dressing up for Halloween costume parties even before it became popular with children.
Halloween costumes are a rather recent development in the whole Halloween tradition. It did not begin until the early twentieth century and the first commercially available Halloween costumes did not appear in stores until the 1930's.
With the holiday being very loosely based on old Celtic legends about the closeness between the mundane world and that of the spirits at this time of year and the Catholic Church's celebration of their saints, it is no wonder that Halloween costumes have taken on a rather macabre appearance.
Hollywood movies were just beginning to sweep the nation around this time as well and stars like Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi portrayed a perfect sinister touch for Halloween costumes.
Green skinned witches, mummies, vampires, ghosts, werewolves and assorted other monsters fired the popular imagination of the people and the American tradition of a spooky Halloween grew from there.
As with any costume, the chance to "let go" a bit gave an entertaining way to express oneself in a fantastical way. With the growing popularity of "trick or treat" nights, the children got in on the act and soon the streets on Halloween night were filled with frightening apparitions begging door to door for candy and sweets.
The market was ripe and Halloween costumes began to include many more styles of dress than just monsters. Pirates, cats, fairies, clowns and spandex wearing super heroes soon began to appear beside the more ghoulish attire.
This motif continues to evolve with time and some of the current trends include uniforms of professionals like firemen and police as well as military costumes from throughout the ages. For the emergency costume, it is acceptable to put together a quick costume from even ordinary clothing. The key is to dress yourself as differently as you can from your normal attire.
Halloween ranks as the third greatest party holiday on our calendar, falling behind only New Year's Eve and the Super Bowl Football day in number of gatherings. In terms of commerce, Halloween is second only to Christmas for consumer spending.
Despite its somewhat religiously inspired origins, Halloween is a grand secular holiday that can be enjoyed by a maximum of our citizens despite their cultural beliefs. This fun tradition for the Halloween season continues to be a primary aspect and dressing up will be with us for many years to come.
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