Halloween costumes have been associated with the holiday since the first instances of the holiday. It is believed that people who celebrated Samhain, the original Halloween, dressed in costumes to hide from ghouls. There are many other references to wearing costumes throughout the 18th and 19th century from countries with strong Celtic ties such as Wales, Mann, Ireland, and Scotland.
Halloween costumes were once known to be frightening, but have evolved to more cute costumes. During the 1930’s, Halloween costumes began being based off popular films and literature characters. This time in history also saw an increase in the amount of adults that would partake in the dressing up in Halloween costumes.
Why Did Ancient People Wear Halloween Costumes? …show more content…
The Celtics were a very superstitious religious group of people that believed in numerous gods and believed that Mother Earth provided for them. Their priests, the Druids, would use the power of divination on Samhain to predict the future. The Celts also believed that on Samhain, the 31st of October, ghosts, witches, fairies, and other various supernatural creatures would roam free for the night. In order to protect themselves and their families, the Celts would dress up in homemade costumes that would resemble ghosts in order to trick the supernatural into believing that they were just fellow ghosts.
As the holiday evolved, people would dress up in order to provide offerings for the dead. They felt that they needed these costumes to appease the ghosts and the witches, and to protect them from any harm. They used the costumes as a way to personify older spirits and thought that the display would be flattering to