why do kids dress up on halloween?

Answer 1

u were a child once....why did u???

Answer 2

Kids dress up for halloween for fun, and because its a tradition. Also its the one day of the year when you can dress however you want and not worry about what others have to say.

Answer 3

The old folk story is this. Halloween was originally called, "All Hallow's Eve". It was the night before "All Saints Day" (Nov. 1). Kids were told that satan could walk the earth for one night in search of souls. So, kids would dress up like ghouls and evil creatures to TRICK the devil. At the end of the evening's parade, they would get TREATS for successfully tricking satan. The next day they went to church.

I'm a history and religion teacher.

Answer 4

This is a good question, it could be from someone new to North America who hasnt seen this tradition before. There is not one clear answer anyway. Its a mix of many cultures and practices that have merged over the years. Basically across many cultures and from many places in the world, the three or four days around Nov 1st the world of the dead and all things related to it are remembered or celebrated, including dressing up.
In medieval Ireland and areas of what are now the British Isles, the 1st of November marks the harvest season and end of summer, called Samhain. At this time dead anscestors were celebrated and remembered as people prepared for the cold season by laying away food stores and being thankful. It was determined which animals from the herds were to be slaughtered and bones of previously slaughtered animals were thrown onto "bone fires", now "bonfires" in villages, where families would gather to relight their home hearths from the one shared fire and enter the upcoming winter season purified and renewed. It is thought by many cultures that the World of the Dead is closest to the World of the Living at this time.
The night before our secular Halloween, October 30th, is currently know as Devils Night. According to some cultures bewteen night fall and sunrise the Devil walks the earth looking for stray souls. It is also known as Mischief Night when pranksters smash your nicley carved pumpkins on the streets, or soap car windows, etc. Damage could always be blamed on the departed souls or the Devil himself.
In Mexico Oct 31st is the Day of the Dead, where family gravesites are cleaned, visited and decorated. This decended from Aztez traditons which seemingly mocked the dead, with livley, joyous,dancing skeletons etc. In the catholic church its All Saints Day from All Hallows Eve, a day of obligation, to remember and pray for the deceased.
In terms of dressing up, in ninteenth century Ireland, it used to be that poor people or prankster children would disguise themselves by dressing up as ghosts or witches etc and threaten a prank or "trick" at strangers doorways if they werent given food (like apples or nuts) or coins. The trick might be putting a slate tile over a chimney filling the house with smoke, or letting cattle out of a penned area. In other places it wasnt so much about extortion, it was the guests duty to perform a trick (like a funny poem, or song or joke) inorder to recieve a treat.

Halloween costumes werent common culture in North America unitl the 1930's when the home made costumes were related to death, or the supernatural, ghosts, witches, vampires, ghouls, corpses and so on. These days through media and the Hallmark-ization of once culturally significant holidays, its store bought princesses, pirates or Power Rangers with a pillowcase full of sugar you"ll find at your door. So get some candy, be spooky and be prepared to celebrate and live a little, cause were all gonna end up the same way, dead.

Answer 5

C-A-N-D-Y! Kids want to get out and have some hoots, pretend to be someone or something else, check out what other kids have dreamed up, and scare away all of the nethercreatures that roam the earth on this night of the demons.

Answer 6

my daughter dresses up everyday-( she kind of reminds me of the kid in the movie hope floats-that is always dressed as a puppy) so halloween is just the only day of the year people dont sneer at us for it.

Answer 7

Well not only what is listed below.. You get to be something your not. You get to be whatever you want for one day and dream and get free candy.

Ancient Origins
Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.




Modern Traditions
The American tradition of "trick-or-treating" probably dates back to the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives.

The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as "going a-souling" was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

Answer 8

Because it is fun to dress up and get candy!

Answer 9

because adluts would look funny as the Mighty Morphin Power rangers

Answer 10

bc its fun.
don't you remember what it was like to be a kid on halloween?

Answer 11

cause its fun to dress up in fantasy ppl like witches,mummy,vampire!