As fall rolls around, the seasonal hype boils down to one major holiday: Halloween. Once the pumpkin spice craze fades away, everyone’s next hyperfixation becomes this creepy, end-of-October celebration. But when you compare Halloween to the world’s other massive holidays, some unique features stand out that make it a bit different from the rest. What exactly is Halloween celebrating? How did it grow into one of the biggest holidays of the year? And most of all, how has nostalgia impacted our current Halloween experience, turning the 31st into a time to dress up and party?
The history of Halloween is built on a multitude of myths, tales, and celebrations. While many early belief systems honored ghosts and the dead, the American version we see today stems from an Irish Pagan New Year’s celebration. As the final harvests were collected and crops died in the winter frost, Samhain emerged. Due to all the dying plants, people believed that during this time the dead walked among the living, and from this very belief, the first Halloween traditions were born.
However, when Christianity took root in the Middle Ages, Pagan traditions began to fall. All Soul’s Day was born to honor the passed saints, a tradition that became All Hallows’ Eve in England. When kids started to celebrate in the evening instead of late at night, the name All Hallows’ Eve shifted to Halloween. The English brought this holiday with them when they migrated to the Americas, where it has now grown into the second-highest holiday for consumerism in the United States.
Halloween is centered on nostalgia, not celebration. Most holidays are baked around honoring a specific event. Halloween, on the other hand, is driven by a collection of myths and stories rather than a strong cultural event we still recognize today. So, why is it still celebrated, and how has it gained this much traction over the years?
A lot of Halloween’s popularity is tied back to nostalgia. From teens, young adults, and old adults, everyone is just trying to recreate the magic of their childhood. That’s why you will still see some adults trick-or-treating with masks to revisit their past.Â
Additionally, nostalgia hugely influences costumes as well. Because adults still want to join in on the fun of dressing up for one night of the year, a rise in hyperspecific costumes has taken center stage.
Most of these new “niche” costumes are heavily inspired by certain characters from our past. Shows like Max and Ruby and The Fairly OddParents have seen a huge resurgence in costumes and cosplays. It all comes down to knowing other people your age will instantly understand your costume because you all grew up watching the same television specials.Â
All this childhood nostalgia bleeds into how we celebrate today. Instead of sticking to today’s minimalistic trends, many holiday parties channel the 90s to build a “spooky vibe.” Everything in the past just feels more genuine and grand, which is why we turn to it as inspiration, trying to recreate its magic.Â
Technology has also made the past feel more present than the current day, which can increase nostalgia-based trends, especially surrounding Halloween and Christmas. Events like Halloween Horror Nights lean heavily into this vibe, drawing us in with classic horror IPs like The Shining and throwbacks to icons like Ozzy Osbourn.
So whether you’re choosing to celebrate Halloween like your inner child would or with a bit more Y2K glam, think about how much of it you are genuinely celebrating, and how much of it is just reminiscent of your past.