The origins of costumes around Halloween, once again takes us back to the Pagan holiday of Samhain.
Again, with the belief that the veil is the thinnest at this time of the year and spirits are out and roaming where they could see you, and you could see them.
People turned to costumes as a way to hide.
At this time people would dress up as what they perceived these spirits to look like, with the goal being to blend in.
They would adorn themselves with furs, pelts, and animal skulls as a form of disguise.
Blending in would allow a human to look like a spirit to confuse them or to look enough like them, they would be left alone.
So, at its roots, the goal was to ward away spirits.
As costuming continued through history, in Germany kids would dress up during "Belsnickeling".
During "Belsnickeling" kids would dress up and call on their neighbors to see if the adults could guess their costume.
Other places in Europe would host Masquerade Balls, where a heavily adorned mask would not only show your wealth but
would hide your true identity up until the moment of unmasking.
As you can probably guess, these traditions lend themselves to what we witness in modern times as children dressing up and heading out into the community to Trick or Treat!
Interested in the history of Jack O'Lanterns, Halloween, and what Halloween looks like
in mordern times? Keep reading!
