Halloween wasn't a commercial holiday like it is today. Most of us scouted around our houses to come up with costume options then chose a character we wanted to or could portray based on what we had on hand or could find. Parents and sometimes our grandparents or aunts and uncles helped with clothes or ideas for costumes, too.
In the 1959 photo above, in the front row, you can see a queen or princess, a knight-like character, another princess, a gypsy (probably me), a king or perhaps a jester, and a curly-headed bunny who looks like he may have Bugs Bunny printed on his clothes. In the back row I see a boy wearing a flat cap--a newsboy?, a little Dutch girl in the center, a ghoul, and on the right a cowboy with black mask. How I wish the photo were in focus!
And trick-or-treating in our town was different than it is today. We knocked on the door, the door was opened, and then the person who lived in the home guessed who we were. Are you Johnny? Linda? Mary? In those days not only did neighbors know each other but nearly everyone in town knew who all the kids were. And we didn't get any candy until the person at the door had identified each of us.
I liked Halloween in those days, before costumes were commercial, before candy was grab and go, when it was all about fun.
I've written several other posts about Halloween and, my personal favorite, All Saints Day in El Salvador.
- All Saints Day, Sociedad, El Salvador
- Dried Corn and Bars of Soap (which focuses on the trick in trick-or-treat)
- All Saints Day
Happy Halloween!
This is a post for Amy Johnson Crow's 2019 version of 52 Ancestors. The topic for this week was Trick or Treat.
–Nancy.
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Great photo, I wish it were in focus too. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Barb.
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