by Shannon Butler
Halloween has become one of the most popular holidays on our calendar. Regardless of the pandemic, Americans are still forging ahead, finding new ways to celebrate an old Celtic tradition. As a nation, we still plan on spending a lot of money (only slightly less than we did before the era of Covid), about 8 billion dollars between the candy, the decorations, and the costumes (that’s more than twice the amount of the yearly budget for the National Park Service, just to give you an idea). We spend almost half a million dollars on costumes just for our pets (guilty). As a lover of Halloween, I personally added another $25 to my budget this year for materials to construct a candy chute on my front porch. This will help with the practice of social distancing for anyone who ventures out for trick or treating. Back at the turn of the last century, there were a lot more tricks going on than treats.
If you look through the local newspapers in the 1890s and early 1900s, you will find that most of the articles about Halloween are concerning the local parties and pranks from the younger generations. In 1883 the Poughkeepsie Eagle News referred to the holiday, “the vigil of Hallowmas or All Saint’s Day, is a relic of pagan times.” The article went on to say “much of the superstition connected with that day as being the special time when supernatural influences prevail is now forgotten.” That seems to be the case, as the holiday turned from a day of honoring the Catholic saints and the dearly departed, to a night of trouble-making. In 1891 the Journal reported that “The young people of the city observed Halloween in a merry manner Saturday evening. Some were quite boisterous and inclined to be seriously mischievous, but nothing serious occurred.” Boys in local towns caused trouble in the night mostly by removing signs and gates from people’s properties. The girls at Vassar College had a large party where they held the traditional ‘bobbing for apples’ and a masquerade.
The holiday has certainly evolved over the past century: for example, by the 1910s we begin to see advertisements for Halloween decorations and cards at stores like Luckey, Platt and Company, and Smith Brothers. To the right we see an advertisement from 1912 in which Luckey, Platt assures customers, “When the Witches and Spooks trot around Halloween Night. Have a Halloween Party and You’ll Be All Right.” The modern act of “Trick or Treating” has ties to medieval practices in Europe, but what we know today as going door to door asking for candy did not begin in this country until sometime around the 1930’s. In 1941, the Kresge’s store on Main street was selling costumes for 59 cents for kids, and 98 cents for adults (the popular costume for women that year was a Southern Belle thanks in part to the success of the movie ‘Gone With the Wind’).
By the 1950s, “Trick or Treating” had become a popular way to celebrate Halloween throughout most of the country. The ad to the right with the array of costumes was for the Grand Union on Main Street in October of 1960, and by then, most children had the desire to have scarier costumes. Whatever you choose to dress up as this year, or whatever your plans, please remember to be safe and be smart. Happy Halloween!
References:
Poughkeepsie Eagle – 01 Nov 1883, 02 Nov 1891, Oct 1912, 19 Oct 1941, Oct 1960
The Book of Halloween, by Ruth Edna Kelley
Halloween: An American Holiday, An American History, By Lesley Pratt Bannatyne – 394.268 BAN
Death Makes a Holiday: A cultural history of Halloween, By David J. Skal – 394.264 SKA
Images:
1- Picture of the Candy Chute built by Shannon Butler (Historian)
2- Article from the Poughkeepsie Journal – 02 Nov. 1891
3- Advertisement from Luckey, Platt, and Co. Poughkeepsie Journal – Oct 1912
4- Advertisement from Kresge’s Poughkeepsie Journal – Oct 1941
5- Halloween Costumes advertisement for Grand Union, Poughkeepsie Journal – Oct 1960
