Halloween is an ancient holiday that dates all the way back to the eighth century. The holiday was originally called All Saints Day then was later changed to All Hallows Eve and then to the name we know today, Halloween. Halloween can be traced to the Celtic festival of Samhain. They used to use this holiday to honor saints. People would wear costumes and masks to protect themselves from the spirits that would harm them. Nowadays, people just run around outside dressed up as whatever they want to knock on neighbors doors and ask for candy with the phrase “Trick or Treat”. The common theme in both the ancient and modern Halloween holiday, is the costume.

Costumes have evolved throughout the years as the holiday started to change and more trends came across. Movies and celebrities influence the most popular costumes. So far, 2023 has been a great year for the film industry and has sent a lot of new faces to stardom. The new Barbie movie came out this year; it was a hit. The movie theaters were flooded with people. So one would guess that Ken and Barbie would be a popular costume this year. Taylor Swift also went on her Eras Tour during 2023. You would think that Swift would be a popular costume this year as well. However, when taking a poll, neither Swift nor Ken and Barbie appeared. The poll taken asked PPBHS students the question: “What is your Halloween costume?”

The most popular answers were a SWAT team member and a pirate. In my opinion, I think the two most popular costumes were a Girl Scout costume and the Joker costume. I had friends that wore both of those costumes for Halloween. They also said that while attending a Halloween Party, there were multiple other people wearing the same costume. On Tik Tok there were many videos on both of those costumes which makes me think that those were the winning costumes this year.

As this holiday has grown more and more popular and more and more trends arise, the most popular Halloween costumes are always a mystery. You will always have the generic cop, cowboy, or black cat costumes, but the ones that go above and beyond are always the best!

What was your Halloween costume this year?