Stores take advantage of this popular holiday, it all starts early in September, huge displays, with aisle full of indoor and outdoor decorations, candy and, costumes, just to name a few. According to the online Merriam-Webster Free Dictionary Halloween is “the night of October 31 when children dress up as ghosts, witches, monsters, etc., and go to houses to ask for candy”. It is not unusual for adults to join on the fun and dress up as well, for example many parents wear their costume to go trick-or- treating with their children, and others just do it because is fun or because they are attending a costume party. First of all, this now popular tradition of Halloween didn’t always evolve dressing up and going house to house to get candy. What
Thesis Statement: How Halloween has evolved from what it once was to what is now.
These traditions were connected with the lower class at the time and so they were also connected with crime, rowdy behavior and other stereotypes the upper class believed about the poor. Of course people who were part of the upper class did not like this and by the 1870s they had turned Halloween into a holiday to make children into “good American citizens.” Halloween was now targeted towards children and because of that families were encouraged to celebrate it at home where food, games and other entertainment would have adult supervision. By doing this children were expected to understand the values society holds, while also learning about their proper gender roles. At this point we are able to start to see how Halloween became so heavily influenced by gender roles/stereotypes and how that led to the over-sexualized holiday it is now. Trick or treating and wearing Halloween costumes became popular in America around the 1920s and by the 1950s children’s costumes were extremely reflective of their sex. (Bannatyne.) Girls were dressed as princesses and angels while boys were army men, hobos and so on. However, as cute and adorable as this is or may have been, this creates a very thick line between genders. When that line is present it is alluding to children that
Halloween was an ancient cultural festival taken by people who thought it was interesting. With the holiday's history steeped in cultural borrowing it’s a shame that many Halloween costumes suffer from cultural theft.
Every year millions of kids get dressed up, knock on doors, and beg for candy. With Halloween just around the corner, you all are probably wondering where this strange tradition came from. Every year I have experienced this holiday and have done research on this topic. According to a 2014 Smithsonian.com article, stated by Natasha Geiling, in just one year Americans spent over six billion dollars on candy, costumes, and ghoulish decor in anticipation for Halloween. Many people think all Halloween is about dressing up and going trick or treating but there's more to it than that. The roots and variations from all around are what makes Halloween what it is today. In order to understand this holiday, we will go into the history of Halloween, how it's celebrated around the world, and superstitions revolving it.
Halloween for many Americans means dressing up as an animal, famous star, cartoon, etc. and going trick-or-treating with their family or friends. However, not many people know the meaning behind Halloween. It is always celebrated on October 31st no matter what day it lands on. Many people do not know the tradition of Halloween and where it came from. In fact, I did not know either until my High School teacher told me that Halloween came from Ireland. The purpose of dressing up is so that the spirits and demons cannot recognize human beings. Many people thought the dead would arise that day and that’s why people used masks to distinguish themselves. In addition, trick-or-treating was a way to give candy, food, or money, but throughout the years it has changed. People trick-or-treat to receive candy or get tricked, which is always fun for children and even adults. People have a choice of either staying in their homes and just give candy to people who knock on the door or receiving candy. If the light of the front door is on or the house is decorated, then it is a sign that you can knock on their door. On Halloween Jack-o-Lanterns is believed that he tricked the devil, and when he died he was rejected in heaven and hell; for that reason, he roams our world and we represent him by carving pumpkins. Halloween dealt with spirits
This is the first recorded activity that can be linked to trick-or-treating, and the similarities can be seen in the act of setting out food for people to take. This might also be the reason why the custom of children dressing up as monsters started. People set out for food for the evil spirits said to roam the Earth on this day, and kids dressed up as them to trick people into giving them
Long ago, the Celtic and pagan religions made Halloween more alive before we ever did. The essay says, “Carving pumpkins, bobbing for apples, dressing up in costume and even trick-or-treating were all pagan practices that were carried over.” All of these items made people more interested in the holiday, since they got to be scared and get to be whatever character from whatever show, movie, or play. Some people also think Halloween can be dangerous though because of broken down homes. The essay said that residential house built during the early 1800s were becoming worn down and dilapidated. That means the young children could get crushed by beams supporting the house, fall through floors, and get severe broken bones, but since then, Halloween been improved to where no parent or child will get hurt and haunted houses have been mending their special FX, actors or employees makeup and costumes and are getting better than
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Since I was a child, Halloween was the event I looked more forward to throughout the year, even more than my birthday. Halloween was the day I got to be anything I wanted, and be rewarded for it by receiving candy. My love for the holiday during my childhood has played a big role in who I’ve become now. I love dressing up as different personas, and I’m attracted to the same eeriness Halloween has.
Halloween originated as a time to remember the dead. Some take this aspect of Halloween very seriously. This brings the first type of costume at a party, the Spooky. These can be zombies, vampires, witches, mummies, Frankenstein, and of course creepy
Halloween is assumed to have been around in some form for the last 2,000 years. During this time costumes have been one of the main highlights for the festivities. However, the costumes that we have today are vastly different from the costumes that the Celts had 2,000 years ago when they established the ancient origins of this holiday.
Halloween is one of the major events of America’s tradition. I’m fond of the idea of dressing up in awesome costumes. Kids put lots of effort into dressing up and walking down the street, getting candy. It is a big night for trick-or-treating. The trick-or-treating is my favorite part of Halloween. Halloween these days is a threat to our cities. It is one of the deadliest days of the year. For example, the rising in deaths of kids getting hit by cars, the car accidents involved with drunk drivers, and the feeling of being insecure walking at night in the community.
Centuries before it become the Halloween we know today, the holiday served as a night of prophesy rather than partying. Halloween dates back to pre-historic time to group of paganism known as the Celts. According to Minnesota Historical Society, “The Celts lived 2,000 years ago in what is now Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales and northern France.” Samhain was their festival for the New Year, Which marked the day when summer ended and winter began. They associated winter with human death. According to Lewis Spencer, (author of Origins of Halloween) “The Celts
Most kids think that trick-or-treating is the Halloween tradition. Kids dress up as monster, mythical creatures, super heroes and other things, going door to door asking for candy. Well, “Trick-or-Treating hasn’t always been a part of Halloween celebrations. In fact, Halloween has only been celebrated in the US for a relatively short time.’’ (Author: N/A, (Date: N/A) Halloween History, http://www.halloweenhistory.org/trick-or-treating-history.html)
According to my research, the origin of Halloween comes from the Celtic culture, many years long ago, and the all the spirits of dead people would waken up from the dead and wander the streets on the night of October 31st. That night was considered to be an evil night. The Catholics made Halloween into an all saints day, however there was amusement, terror, and a satanic twist attached. Nowadays Halloween is celebrated by dressing up in Halloween costumes and going door to door asking for candy or giving away candy to the people at your door. The ones that mostly go around the neighborhood trick or treating are the young children. Some people suppose that the trick or treating custom originated from the Irish because they use to go around asking
My perfect Halloween would be a night of just chilling and watching a marathon of halloween