Guess which original Halloween costumes we’ve included in our selection? Hint: there are no vampires, ghosts or pumpkins. Prices are varied, from 18 euros.
Movie characters like Pennywise from IT, The Mask or The Suicide Squad, fantasy series like The Squid Game, or drawings that play with optical illusions inspire costumes to surprise.
How did the Tradition of Dressing up for Halloween Come About?
In 2016, the United States spent $8.4 million on Halloween costumes, according to the National Retail Foundation. Those who most like to dress up on these dates are children and also the so-called “millennials” (people born between 1981 and 1995).
In Spain, the Halloween tradition is still missing for people over 50 to 60 years old. But among children and teenagers, Halloween is a much anticipated party.
In hundreds of schools from kindergarten onwards, children dress up in Halloween costumes and experience them as a fun event.
Halloween is here to stay, after summer this horror carnival is an opportunity to dress up and have fun. The tradition of dressing up for Halloween came to us from the United States through films such as Halloween (1978).
At that time, nobody in Spain knew the word “Halloween”. Today the film has become epic. On October 19, Halloween 2018, the eleventh film, will be released.
The origin of Halloween costumes does not come from the United States, it is much older. It was the Celts who originated this tradition.
Celtic culture appeared in Central Europe as early as 1400 BC. C and spread to Ireland, Scotland, Brittany in France, Galicia and Asturias in Spain or the Isle of Man.
At the end of summer, the Celts celebrated a feast in honor of the harvest, “Samahain”, coinciding with the date of the end of October. Their beliefs were animistic, so they attributed spirits to trees, animals and other living things.
Samhain was celebrated on October 31, the eve of All Hallows’ Day. The Celts believed that it was the only night of the year when the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the dead no longer existed.
Then the spirits took on human form and returned to Earth. In order not to be recognized (that is, out of fear), they wore white clothes and painted their faces to camouflage themselves from evil spirits.
In the aftermath of the Irish “Great Famine” (1845-1849), thousands of Irish people emigrated to the United States. They took their traditions with them, like the celebration of Samhan. But being in another country, its traditions have adapted and changed.
In the New World, Halloween comes from the term “All Hallow’s Eve” (All Saints’ Eve) and has become a festival where people dress up and tell horror stories.