Dressing up is nothing new, but while today's version of Halloween finds people dressing up as Internet memes and pop culture icons, costumes were very different in the past.
Halloween actually has a huge history, with roots in Roman and Celtic traditions in Europe, and plenty of other cultures around the world have similar festivals honoring harvests and the dead — and many of them also include dressing up.
If you'd like a little historical perspective this Halloween, check out these re-creations of traditional costumes from various European cultures. Not all of them come from fall festivals, but all of them are pretty awesome. There's nothing wrong with channeling the present for a costume, like this melted Barbie costume, but sometimes taking a look backwards in time is inspiring, too.
The photos you see here were taken by photographer Charles Fréger, who spent 2010 and 2011 traveling through 19 European countries learning about the ancient traditions of various cultures and compiling them into a book. He found that many of them featured wildly costumed men playing characters that symbolized life, death, and rebirth.
What do you think of these unique costumes? Let us know in the comments below!
(h/t: BoredPanda, National Geographic)
In Bulgaria, men wrap themselves in goat skins at the new year to impersonate the Kukeri, who both embody and frighten away evil spirits. They visit houses in the night, ringing bells and bestowing good luck on families.
The kukeri are believed to stem from an ancient Greek tradition that honored the god Dionysus.
Krampus is one of the more famous beasts of folklore. In Austria and Germany, this dark, wild counterpart to the benevolent St. Nicholas appears around Christmas to punish the naughty.
In central Romania, the stag is a symbol of the new year. People dress up in masks and go out caroling. Depending on the region of Romania, you'll see different animal masks, including goats and buffalo, being worn. Typically, the masks are made of wood and decorated with paper.
On the Italian island of Sardinia, the Sos Colonganos, who also come with a variety of other variations on their name, are wrapped in fur, bones, and shells, and walk through the streets.
Juantramposo is a mischievous character from Alsasua, Spain, who appears on Mardi Gras. At the end of the festival, everyone joins him in a dance.
The Schnappviecher of the Tyrol region of Italy, whose name means "snapping beasts," and appear on Shrove Tuesday during Holy Week, just before Easter. The origins of this tradition are shrouded in mystery, but people seem to love it anyway! These costumes can reach up to nine feet in height, too.
In Switzerland, people dress up for Carnival in the spring. It seems that costume festivals tend to occur in the autumn and spring, seasons traditionally associated with death and rebirth. This man is dressed as a typical "savage" character, although he w
