Halloween. For some, it’s another day of the fall season, but for students on a college campus, it might as well be New York Fashion Week. The processes are essentially the same – weeks and sometimes even months of planning go into the outfits we wear, and then comes the hair, accessories, and numerous photos taken for the occasion. I, myself, and my friends had three days of planning outfits to do, so this was not a holiday we were taking lightly. It didn’t matter the homework we had to do, or the exhaustion we were going to face; we were going to get these costumes done. On campus Saturday night, I saw an array of costumes; I was Red Riding Hood, but I also saw the Beatles, the Three Blind Mice from Shrek, and many, many coordinated couples’ costumes.
But what does this incessant need to dress up say about us as a culture? Is society as a whole so bad that we need to devote a designated time to pretending to be someone we are not to avoid thinking about our problems? I think the answer is yes. For a lot of people, this is one of the only nights of the year that they don’t need to think of what’s going on in their lives. You can pretend to be someone you’re not, which makes this night unlike any other Saturday night of going out with your friends. You get lost in the costume in a sense – why focus on your problems when you can focus on what you’re wearing? These outfits become an escapism from the day-to-day. That’s why we put so much effort into them; without the effort, it’s just the same as getting ready for a regular night out.
I think another reason why people love the holiday is how people’s alcohol consumption spikes during Halloween. Obviously, this isn’t the case for everyone, but a lot of people’s goal by the end of the night is to consume as much alcohol as they can get their hands on. I know that for my friends, it seemed to be all we talked about. “What costumes are we wearing, and what do we want to get to drink?” The extra emphasis makes me think we’d care to forget more than we’d think. But who’s to say, maybe some people do just like dressing up for the fun of it, but I’m not so sure.