I’m not entirely sure how this came to be, but Halloween has somehow become a day about stepping into the shoes of someone you aren’t. This could mean dressing like a friend, politician, celebrity, stereotype, animal, fictional character and everything in between.
But why do we do this?
Halloween started as a celebration of the dead. People would dress up as animals and eventually saints, angels and demons and start dancing around big bonfires celebrating and such things. So how did we go from dressing up like animals and angels to Britney Spears and Richard Nixon?
Simple. Insecurities.
People want to take a break from being who they are, and honestly, being an angel, demon or saint is pretty boring. So why not extend that tradition to other things? It’s a pretty liberal view of the original holiday, but that’s what we’ve got now. And that’s how it’s come to be.
People, I believe, find comfort in being able to dress up like a pimp or James Bond rather their boring selves for once. They can step into a role and let themselves loose. It’s only one night after all, why not?
It’s all in good fun, right? Well… as long as no one takes it too seriously. Remember though, who you may become on Halloween is not who you are.
Just because you dressed up like Sarah Palin, who is bound to be a popular one this year, doesn’t mean you get to be uninformed.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is don’t lose your thinking just because you’re playing someone else for a night. Just because you’re Jason Voorhees doesn’t mean you have to do potentially dangerous activities.
Be careful out there and enjoy Halloween.
