College students dressed up for Halloween.

Kids dressed up in Halloween costumes.

Halloween costumes are outfits worn on or around October 31, the day of Halloween. Halloween is a modern-day holiday originating in the Pagan Celtic holiday of Samhain (in Christian times, the eve of All Saints Day). Although popular histories of Halloween claim that the practice goes back to ancient celebrations of Samhain, in fact there is little primary documentation of masking or costuming on Halloween before the twentieth century.^[1] Costuming became popular for Halloween parties in America in the early 1900s, as often for adults as for children. The first mass-produced Halloween costumes appeared in stores in the 1950s when trick-or-treating became a fixture throughout the United States. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 298 KB) Three women are dressed for Halloween in Potomac Hall at James Madison University on October 31, 2002. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 298 KB) Three women are dressed for Halloween in Potomac Hall at James Madison University on October 31, 2002. ... Image File history File links Kidincostumes. ... Image File history File links Kidincostumes. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... Halloween is a tradition celebrated on the night of October 31, most notably by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door collecting sweets, fruit, and other treats. ... Pagan may refer to: A believer in Paganism or Neopaganism Bagan, a city in Myanmar also known as Pagan Pagan (album), the 6th album by Celtic metal band Cruachan Pagan Island, of the Northern Mariana Islands Pagan Lorn, a metal band from Luxembourg, Europe (1994-1998) Pagans Mind, is... The words Celt and Celtic can have a variety of meanings. ... This article is about the Celtic holiday. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... The festival of All Saints, also sometimes known as All Hallows or Hallowmas (hallows meaning saints, and mas meaning Mass), is a feast celebrated in the honour of all the saints, known and unknown. ... A primary source is any piece of information that is used for constructing history as an artifact of its times. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

What sets Halloween costumes apart from costumes for other celebrations or days of dressing up is that they are often designed to imitate supernatural and scary beings. Popular monsters of legend or fiction are regular themes for Halloween costumes, as are pop culture figures like presidents, or film, television, and cartoon characters. Another popular trend is for women (and in some cases, men) to use Halloween as an excuse to wear particularly revealing costumes, showing off more skin than would be socially acceptable otherwise. Look up Supernatural in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about monsters as a kind of legendary creature. ...

Halloween costume parties generally fall on, or around, October 31, often falling on the Friday or Saturday prior to Halloween.

According to The National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2006 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, the top Halloween costumes for children are:^[2]

1. Princess
2. Pirate
3. Witch
4. Spider-Man
5. Superman // Disney Princess
6. Power Ranger
7. Pumpkin
8. Cat
9. Vampire

The top Halloween costumes for adults are: Princess is the feminine form of prince (from Latin princeps, meaning principal citizen). ... Look up pirate and piracy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ... Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ... Superman is a fictional character and one of the most famous and popular comic book superheroes of all time. ... The official Disney Princess logo Disney Princesses are fictional characters who have been featured as part of the Disney character line-up. ... A Ranger is a Human or humanoid warrior who morphs from a natural, unpowered form (often using a device called a Morpher) into a superhuman form clad in a full-body costume (irreverently called spandex on more than one occasion but actually an unknown composition), as well as a helmet... Pumpkins Pumpkin attached to a stalk A pumpkin is a squash fruit, usually orange in colour when ripe. ... Look up CAT, cat, Cat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Philip Burne-Jones, The Vampire, 1897 This article deals with vampires in folklore and legends. ...

1. Witch
2. Pirate
3. Vampire
4. Cat
5. Clown
6. Fairy
7. Gypsy
8. Superhero
9. Ghost // Ghoul

This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ... Look up pirate and piracy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Philip Burne-Jones, The Vampire, 1897 This article deals with vampires in folklore and legends. ... Look up CAT, cat, Cat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Trooping fairies be merged into this article or section. ... Look up gypsy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article may contain original research or unverified claims. ... A manufactured image of a ghostly woman ascending a staircase. ... Depiction of a ghoul A ghoul is a monster from ancient Arabian folklore that dwells in graveyards and other uninhabited places. ...

[edit] See also

• Halloween traditions

Halloween traditions include customs, practices, icons, people, and events associated with Halloween. ...

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Diane C. Arkins, Halloween: Romantic Art and Customs of Yesteryear, Pelican Publishing Company (2000). 96 pages. ISBN 1-56554-712-8
• Diane C. Arkins, Halloween Merrymaking: An Illustrated Celebration Of Fun, Food, And Frolics From Halloweens Past, Pelican Publishing Company (2004). 112 pages. ISBN 1-58980-113-X
• Phyllis Galembo, Dressed for Thrills: 100 Years of Halloween Costumes and Masquerade, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (2002). 128 pages. ISBN 0-8109-3291-1

Gnomes 30th Anniversary Edition from Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ...

[edit] External links

• The National Costumers Association
• "Top Halloween Costumes for 2006" Extreme Halloween Network, retrieved October 3, 2006
• International Costumers' Guild, Inc.
• "How To: Dress Up For Halloween" by Justin Becker, retrieved October 3, 2006
• "Scary? No, Sexy: Women's (and some girls') Halloween costumes go skimpy by National Sexuality Resource Center October 2006