Halloween (Group 4)
Halloween at F.S.C.W
Page 44 of the Laura Quayle Scrapbook depicts a newspaper clipping that describe the events that took place at Florida State College for Women during Halloween. During the early 1920s people celebrated Halloween quite differently. Instead of buying their costumes people would instead make them. Trick-or-Treating did not exist during this time, but that did not stop the women of F.S.C.W from having their fun. For this year's celebration, the women dressed themselves up in costumes and gathered in the dining hall. It seems that during this time black cats, witches, goblins, and spooks were the more popular costume choice. Once there, they feasted on ham, pumpkin pie, salad, and other goodies and each grade level competed against each other to see who would win the costume contest.This year, however, they had special guests that joined them. For this year, the women were accompanied by soldiers that were visiting. These soldiers were most likely veterans that had just fought in WWI. During this time, women had a very different role in society. They were expected to be polite and were also expected to serve as hostesses for the men that were returning from war.
Halloween Traditions
There are a lot of different traditions that made up Halloween in the early 1900s. For instance, paper Halloween decorations were very popular during the 1920s. On page 86 of the Laura Quayle Scrapbook there are Halloween decorations that were saved from that year’s events. During this time, celebrating holidays like Halloween was a lot more theatrical. F.S.C.W held costume contests and each grade level prepared a sort of poem that they chanted in the dinning hall. The women during this Halloween celebration sang things like "On a cold, clear night, While the moon shone bright, As I was preparing to take my flight, A coyote hawked, My old cat growled. And I felt as if my plans were fouled, But up I flew, And came to you. Now F.S.C., I’ll do, I’ll do." Compared to today, people during this time were more communal as well. People back then were more friendly with their neighbors and this made it so parades could be possible. Another thing that differs how people celebrated Halloween is the pranks, tricks, and illusions. It became such an issue in some parts of the United States that people started calling Halloween "Mischief Night" or "Devils Night". Some examples of the pranks included letting the air out of people tires, pulling fire alarms, and throwing bricks through shop windows. Apart from that, many of the traditions that the women at F.S.C.W practiced are still practiced today. Things like pumpkin carving and bobbing for apples are traditions that started during their time and are still practiced today.
Works Citied
Bannatyne, L. (2017, October 27). When Halloween Was All Tricks and No Treats. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-halloween-was-all-tricks-no-treats-180966996/
Shelton, J. (2019, October 25). This Is How Americans Celebrated Halloween In The Early 20th Century. Retrieved December 04, 2020, from https://historydaily.org/early-20th-century-halloween-america