Halloween evokes pictures of ghosts, ghouls, vampires and other blood curdling creatures. It kindles awe and fright and sets the heart thumping for fear of the unknown. The words Halloween and terror have always been synonymous. In keeping with the blood curdling horrific nature of the festival, revelers don Halloween scary disgusting masks and costumes that set the adrenaline flowing.
The origins of Halloween scary disgusting masks go back to old Celtic festival. Centuries back, winters were a time for hardship. The short days of winter were scary and the Pagans were afraid of venturing out in the dark as they believed that on Halloween when the mortal world merged with the afterworld, ghosts returned to the earth hovering around and looking for new bodies to live in.
To appease the angry spirits they would light bonfires, overseen by druids, and sacrifice animals. To protect themselves they would wear masks made from animal heads and move around incognito mimicking the dead spirits so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. From this practice was born Halloween scary disgusting masks.
This practice of wearing scary masks continued for centuries till pope Boniface IV declared Halloween to be a Christian holiday. Europeans continued with this tradition to ward off evil spirits. However, celebration of Halloween was considered to be a taboo by many in America till the twentieth century. For them it was an evil holiday. However around this time to curb vandalism among youngsters, parents went back to the Celtic practice of wearing masks on Halloween, which evoked fear, disgust and awe. In 1920, the town of Anoka, Minnesota, was the first to celebrate Halloween in full masked attire.
During the Celtic age, wearing of masks was a matter of life and death as the fear of the unknown enveloped all. However, with time Halloween masks have acquired new meaning. It is today a prop for fun and entertainment. Today the most popular masks are witch masks, werewolf masks and hockey masks. Little girls mostly wear witch masks to perform tricks. They are very colourful and scary and repulsive.
The werewolf mask owes its origin to the Greek mythology. Lycoan and his fifty sons tried to entertain Zeus by offering him a dish of human flesh. A disgusted and infuriated Zeus turned them into werewolves. The legend of werewolves spread to America with the immigrants and today millions of people, particularly children wear werewolf masks during Halloween.
The practice of wearing ghoulish hockey masks on Halloween is relatively new and owes its origin to the horror movie Friday the 13th.
Today Halloween scary disgusting masks made of latex, foam, and paper mache have lost their evil connotations and no longer inspire awe and terror. They are merely part of a costume donned by people who participate in Halloween merriment. These masks of witches, zombies, vampires, demons, mummies and skeletons worn at Halloween parties retain their scary and disgusting look but no longer terrorize us.
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