On a day when many dress up in fun and extraordinary costumes, countless people hold memories of trick-or-treating with friends, receiving an assortment of candies and experiencing Halloween parties.

For many, the tradition of Halloween is tied to expressing originality through costumes.

Halloween has become a holiday centered around dressing up in fun ways that one wouldn’t be able to do on an ordinary day. Throughout the years, we have seen characters from popular movies, famous actors and jokes in costume form.

“Some people associate fond memories of childhood costumes with moments shared with others.”

However, this wasn’t always the case. According to history.com, in the early 20th century, people would dress up for Halloween with a specific theme to be spooky and scary. These costumes were usually made from scratch and were often used as a disguise while causing trouble.

In 1933, after cases of vandalism, people focused on diverting the youths’ views of Halloween to something more positive. Children were dressed up in ways that weren’t spooky: movie stars, cartoons, etc. Communities organized traditions like trick-or-treating to keep kids out of trouble and encourage good behavior.  

The possibilities of dressing up became limitless. We continue traditions like trick-or-treating and dressing up, and we come up with new ideas every year. Some people associate fond memories of childhood costumes with moments shared with others.

“One Halloween I dressed up as a vampire,” said Hailey Hays. “My Papa and I always joked about Halloween. We would always wear those fake vampire teeth and laugh so hard. He passed away the following spring, so I always remember that Halloween.” 

While some people remember the uniqueness of their costumes, others are in it for one goal.

Matthew Recksiedler remembers dressing up as Scooby-doo, a dinosaur and Anakin Skywalker from “Star Wars.” 

“The costume was just a means to get candy,” Recksiedler said.

Costumes can also be an excuse to be creative and make something different that the creator is proud of. Elise Ng recalls one year when she and a group of friends dressed up as characters from the Disney movie “Atlantis.” Ng dressed up as Audrey Ramirez, “the mechanic lady,” which reflected her interests perfectly, as she is now finishing her fifth year pursuing a biomedical and mechanical engineering degrees at Colorado State University.

“We made (the costumes) mostly by buying pieces off of Amazon or different stores and then modified and put them together,” Ng said. 

The possibilities of Halloween costumes have come very far from the initial hope to inspire a good fright. They now act as a way to share special moments with others, present opportunities to exercise creativity and, importantly, to obtain as much candy as possible. 

Kailey Pickering can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @PickeringKailey.