8 Halloween Costumes That Will Scare Environmentalists

Your green friends are carefully planning their Halloween costumes (made out of recycled materials, of course), and they'll be showing up to the costume party as Mother Nature, T. Boone Pickens, and Al Gore, while all you can do is roll your eyes. As they plan a green Halloween, you'll want to spoil their eco-minded celebration in the most passive-aggressive way possible. Try these costume suggestions:

* Safari Hunter—Tell environmentalists, "I have a blatant disregard for the well-being of wildlife," with a sexy safari costume, complete with a shotgun and victims. To enhance this costume, take some red paint and apply it to a few stuffed animals to sling over your shoulder or string around your belt. When you talk to people at the costume party, be sure to share your views about how the Bush administration is being a little too generous with the amount of creatures added to the endangered species list.

* Grocery Bag—Who needs reusable grocery bags when the store gives out the plastic and paper ones free? Show environmentalists that their conservation efforts are all for naught by making yourself a grocery bag costume (or "gross-ery" as this child has done—instructions are the same). Cover a box in butcher paper to make your bag, and then fill it with overpackaged food that has traveled halfway across the country to your store—kiwis and triple-plastic-wrapped white bread, along with plenty of bottled water and eggs that aren't free range.

* Sushi—We learned last week that sushi chefs across the country aren't always using sustainable seafood in their ingredients. If you decide to make this California roll costume, be sure to carry your sushi guide with you and point out that you're made of imported king crab.

* Lumberjack—You're a lumberjack, and you don't care about the environmentalists, who will hear about the resources you consume. Be sure to tell them you don't recycle paper, either. Sub out the ax or chain saw for a rifle and earmuffs, and this costume can easily be transformed into aerial wolf hunter.

* Gas Pump—Show those green hippie wusses what America really runs on. Now that the price of gas is lowering, couple your "told you so" smugness with plenty of mentions of your Hummer limo, conveniently idling outside for the duration of the party. Here's a gas pump costume (note: it contains an off-color but safe-for-work joke).

* Steak—Real Americans eat meat, so when you wear this T-bone steak around, be sure to remind all of your vegetarian and flexitarian friends how delicious the taste of grilled, seasoned animal flesh can be, with a cheerful "Enjoy your tofu burgers, suckas!"

* Sarah Palin—One of the most popular costumes of the year, our candidate who said that the cause of climate change "kinda doesn't matter" would kinda be a great costume to irritate your green friends. Get a Sarah Palin mask, and accessorize with shotgun, canned salmon, and dead polar bear stuffed animals.

* Cow With Whoopee Cushion—Cows are the biggest animal contributors to global warming because of the methane they, to put it politely, emit. Get a cow costume and a whoopee cushion, which you can use on yourself or place under the chair of anyone dressed as Al Gore.

Halloween Open Creativity

Halloween is a time for both adults and kids alike to delve into their creative sides and dream up inventive Halloween costumes. It is also a time when people want to be something that they cannot be in their everyday lives. Some people choose to use their minds and try something clever, while others stick to the traditional choices of ghost or witch. They also want their costumes to be unique and very different from everyone else's that they may see on that particular day

Some people are talented enough to create their own Halloween costumes while others stick to store-bought. Have fun with your costume this year and go over the top! Make your costume the best at the party!

If you're dressing up for a Halloween party, you're naturally going to want to look at some sexy Halloween costumes before choosing the right costume for you. That's kind of the whole point of dressing up for Halloween. You have the perfect excuse to go over the top and surprise everyone with your sexy alter ego.

You will easily find sexy versions of traditional Halloween costumes. If you're thinking of being a witch or a devil, you can easily make them sexy Halloween costumes. Some of these costumes feature very short tops or bustiers and mini skirts combined with more traditional costume elements. They also often feature sexy materials like vinyl and lace. Add heels or, even better, patent leather or vinyl tall boots with high heels, and you've made the costume.

Don't forget to add fishnets, which come in white, black, and red. Just know that white are a little harder to see. Consider wearing regular nylons underneath the fishnets for more contrast and to give your legs a more toned look. Black fishnets work with basically everything. They're like the nude of fishnets. Otherwise, another kind of stockings is necessary. Thigh highs are a lot of fun, and extremely sexy.

Accessories and props will make sexy Halloween costumes. If you're a devil, make sure you have horns. If you're a cat, mouse, or bunny, get your ears and tail. The ears actually make a great headband and they also are great for hiding a wig line. Halloween is a fun time to try long wigs (or short if you have long hair).

Using Halloween decorations such as candles, jack o lanters, table cloth and settings, Halloween props and Dracula teeth along with a costume makes it possible to tell a whole story. What character is truly complete without his or her props? No matter who or what your costume is seeking to portray, there is most likely a way to play the part more fully with the help of Halloween
decorations.

One way to come up with a prop idea is to establish a character and think of something that he or she might want with him or her more often than not. Think of a cowboy. He may want a gun, a campfire nearby or a horse (this last prop might have to actually be played by a friend). An angel could do well to carry a harp in her hands, or a fairy would likely need a wand.

On a more creative note, a way to make a costume that seems serious more amusing is by incorporating the right Halloween props. This will be easier for some people than others, for there are just those who tend to get really inspired about some small detail and it takes them far.

Perhaps, in the case of using props to hint at something, act as an insight or to make a sarcastic statement, decide to dress as a friend, a celebrity or a politician. This person might be well known for an association with something in particular. Carrying around an item that suggests that well-known personality trait (an alarm clock for the guy who is never on time, a mirror for someone
vain, etc.) can end up being a big hit as you hear people exclaiming, "Oh, I get it," followed by laughter.

Halloween began thousands of years ago Celtic people inhabiting the area that is now England, Ireland and Scotland celebrated their new year on November 1st. The Celtic religious order known as the Druids held a great festival each year on the evening before the their new year. This festival was celebrated in honor of the god, Samhain, the Druid god of death and was known as All Hallowtide. The Druids believed in the supernatural and tried to placate the Lord of Death with offerings. This is the action that "Trick-or-Treat" emulates today. The community also sacrificed animals and offered fruits and vegetables so the spirits would keep their distance. The cold and darkness of winter and the presence of spirits are reasons why Halloween is connected with images of death and evil.

Halloween is spooky, but taking Halloween pictures shouldn't be. From a jack-o'-lantern's scary stare to frighteningly fun costumes, this holiday offers unique picture-taking opportunities. The tips below will ease your mind about the unusual challenges that Halloween presents for a photographer. And we'll also show you a few tricks to capture bewitching jack-o'-lantern pictures.

Halloween is a time for both adults and kids alike to delve into their creative sides and dream up inventive Halloween costumes. It is also a time when people want to be something that they cannot be in their everyday lives. Some people choose to use their minds and try something clever, while others stick to the traditional choices of ghost or witch. They also want their costumes to be unique and very different from everyone else's that they may see on that particular day

It's Not Too Early To Be Thinking About A Great Halloween Mask

Although historical Halloween has some sinister beginnings, today Halloween means dressing up in costumes and having a wonderful time. Parties, dressing up at work, decorating the house all are part of the festivities that have become Halloween. To really get into the whole Halloween thing however must include not only a great costume but also a great Halloween mask. The costume is rather simple to obtain as there are costume shops in most major cities and it's even possible to order a particular costume on the web for delivery just before Halloween. Although you may now have the clothing to look like your favorite character or monster, your face still is easily recognizable. This is where a high quality Halloween mask can really come into play.

If there's a choice between a fancy costume or a great Halloween mask and makeup, definitely take the mask. The reason is that although the costume can complete a certain "look" any character you can imagine can also wear basic street clothes. Consider the strong heavily made-up character, a clown. Yes, it's great to have a funny costume and big shoes, but a clown could also wear a business suit or some pajamas and be just as fun. How about a basic witch or warlock? A good Halloween mask and makeup and a cape can make a wonderful witch. So if the character you want to be for Halloween needs face or hand makeup, remember it's the Halloween mask and interaction with the character that will be memorable, not the costume.

Halloween masks come in a variety of styles and types. The most popular and easiest to obtain is the full head latex type masks. These are the type that are available in all the Halloween shops that seem to open up the first part of October and disappear November 1st. These masks come pre colored and decorated and unfortunately also look like you're wearing a mask.

Another option is simply makeup. Theatrical makeup is easily obtained and does a fairly good job if used along with "stick on" type appliances. Appliances are small pieces of pre formed costume latex in shapes like scars, gashes and other more gruesome things. The only problem is that many of the appliances that are easily available tend toward the more gruesome type characters, The idea is to apply the scars etc. first then finish off with the makeup to hide the edges of the appliances. All in all, a good, though somewhat limited Halloween mask idea.

The best idea of all however are full facial appliances. These are theatrical grade latex masks that can are applied directly to your face and give an extremely realistic appearance. These appliances can literally transform anyone into a wide variety of characters. Wizards, warlocks, clowns, monsters, etc. They can even age someone into their 80's or 90's. The biggest benefit of these types of Halloween mask is that they allow you the opportunity to become the character. You friends and guests will not remember that you "dressed up" for Halloween but that you actually were that favorite hobbit or troll.

Adult Halloween costumes – the right choice!

Each year, millions of people celebrate the scary night of Halloween. They dress as their favorite characters, carve up pumpkins and go from door to door asking for candy. A wonderful celebration, Halloween would not be the same if people did not wear costumes. Whether we are talking about a simple Halloween costume or something more sophisticated, the basic idea is that being costumed is great. And considering the wealth of adult Halloween costumes existent out there, how could we think otherwise?

You can dress yourself like the Court Jester, appear at the party as the Lady of the Court or just wear a simple cape instead of a regular Halloween costume. There are many choices out there and the truth is that we all welcome the opportunity to wear a unique-looking costume for one night. Court Jester adult Halloween costumes are quite popular, being represented by an assortment of the following: hood, shirt and pants. As you will probably be informed, you will have to take care of the shoes and the gloves, as these are not included within the package. Another interesting Halloween costume is the Evil Jester adult costume, one that you can match the Evil Royal Goblet to, or the Playing Card King adult costume.

Why The Halloween Costume Industry is Growing

The Halloween costume industry has been expanding for years. That's because more and more people are interested in wearing the latest Halloween costumes at parties, birthdays, and other dress-up events. That means Halloween costumes aren't just for Halloween anymore. The typical fancy costume party is enough to generate a lot of money for a local Halloween shop. There are many more reasons why the Halloween costume industry is booming right now. They are as follows:

More adults are wearing Halloween costumes. Adult costumes are disappearing from the shelves quickly as the more traditional norms of society have begun to disappear. Before, it was practically taboo for an adult to sport a Halloween costume on Halloween. Now. its common place. Another thing that has added to the popularity of Halloween costumes are costume parties. Generally attended by adults, costume parties are the perfect places to wear outrageous Halloween costumes. Why? You'll get a good laugh or a good scare because of all the unique Halloween costumes.

Adults have been known to attend costume parties in all kinds of getups. Some of the more popular adult costumes are waitress, witch, princess, and movie character. People like to dress up in these costumes because they appeal to other people's emotions easily. For instance, who doesn't get a few childhood memories when they see the wicked witch of the west from the wizard of OZ?

Another reason the Halloween costume business is booming is because consumers are getting a little richer each year. Nowadays, there are more and more opportunities to become a millionaire. The Internet makes it easy for the average adult to start selling items from a personal website and marketing them using Search Engine Optimization or other internet networking techniques. And when consumers have more money, that only means one thing, they buy more stuff. And they buy more Halloween costumes. They buy the costumes both for themselves and their kids.

Kids costumes are the traditional hot seller in the Halloween industry, and there's no lack of parents who annually come into Halloween stores looking for the perfect kid costume for their child. Since there's no shortage of customers, there's also no shortage of costumes. Stores sell all kinds of children's costumes, from cartoon characters to superheroes to religious figures.

Kid costumes have also become popular because schools have programs that encourage children to come to school dressed-to-impress around Halloween. Schools usually have Halloween parades and afternoon Halloween parties. At the parties, kids usually enjoy cookies, cakes, and other sweet treats. And kids come dressed to the hilt in every kids costume imaginable. No one wants to be outdone.

The Halloween costume industry is expected to continue to grow. As more and more babies are born and technology advances, costume makers should be able to produce costumes quicker to end up in stores well ahead of Halloween. Also, as TV and film continue to develop new popular characters, more and more people will want to "become" these characters in costume form.

What's Hot For Halloween?

If you are taking your Halloween party seriously this year, and want it to be the best in the neighbourhood, then it is worth getting up to date with what may be big on the coming Halloween scene. There are several aspects to holding a Halloween party, and to put on the best “show”, knowing what might be the most contemporary themes, the latest in horror props and scene setters, scary gadgets and costumes, will give you a big advantage over those who have not checked out the Halloween scene for a few years.

Many of the old Halloween favourites will still be there this year, and long may it be so. Ghouls, vampires, pumpkins, witches and skeletons and other vintage Halloween stars, will no doubt be there again in their thousands, but even they may be looking better, and in some cases more realistic and scary, than ever.

If you do not feel up to date with throwing a Halloween party, here are a few ideas that may help you plan a screaming success of a party:

Halloween Costumes

If you and your family are holding a Halloween party, you definitely need to be dressed for the hosts' role, so choosing convincing costumes is an important start. Many Halloween costumes are available in child,even baby and infant, sizes, so if you have children there is no need for them to be left out when it comes to costumes.

Halloween costumes need not be scary. In fact, there's a good chance that some of the most popular costumes will be based on Hollywood movies. A hot favourite is likely to be pirates, thanks to the release of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest; and especially Captain Jack Sparrow. Other Disney movie characters will also be popular for Halloween costumes, such as Jack Skellington of Nightmare Before Christmas, and for children Sulley Monster from Monsters Inc.

Apart from Disney movies, the return of Superman is sure to feed into the costume market for Halloween, and Harry Potter will no doubt be widely featured. Spiderman looks like being a common costume choice too.

Away from the movies, masks and costume generally seem to get more convincing by the year. the old frighteners such as Dracula and other vampires, zombies, ghouls will be given fresh facelifts for the new Halloween. Not every party goer wants to be a monster, though, and sexy costumes will undoubtedly be in demand again, even such vintage costumes as sexy nurses, chambermaids, belly dancers and sexy cops.

Halloween Props and Scene Setters

It is worth having a good look around at what's available in the way of modern props to help you set the party scene at your home. You can consider setting up your garden, too, to become part of the atmospheric creation.

Some useful props for the garden after dark, especially the front garden and around the drive to greet your guests, are tombstones. Having a garden cemetery can really give you the scope to set the right mood even before the guests come inside the house. Adding to that atmosphere could be a fog maker, pumping artificial fog around the tombstones and any other garden props. A few decapitated heads (artificial of course) with horrific expressions, and other frighteners, could be lit by setting up a low intermittent light near each one, to take visitors by surprise in the swirling fog. Air blown large scale monsters are another possibility for outside or inside the house.

Inside the house, there is a wide choice of scene setters around these days, which you can fix to the walls. These scenic backdrops can help to set up a haunting feel to the house. Your lighting needs to be carefully arranged to have maximum effect, while maintaining safety for family and guests.

Body parts (again, artificial!) such as severed hands, feet, legs and heads, can be used, with strategic placement, to provide the odd surprise around the house. You could even a full skeleton lying in the bath, with just a glimpse through the curtains in a candlelit bathroom. All these Halloween props are easy to find nowadays, so it is just up to your imagination and budget as to how you make use of them. With thousands of props available, the options are immense.

Dress In A Sexy Halloween Costume For A Fun Night Out

Sexy Halloween costumes for a fun night out can mean a variety of things from having a fun night out for just you girls, couples acting out and simply having a good time to being something different for one night a year. Now, when we think of Halloween Costumes, we think of only wearing them for one night - October 31st. Yet this is simply not true. Many not only put on their costumes for more than trick or treating, but for masquerade balls, holiday festivals and to simply role-play for the day.

Getting dressed up is not only about wearing a scary mask or haunted houses full of Witches, Mummies, Bats, and Skeletons but about having fun. Halloween is a celebration of All Hallow's day, All Saints Day and the Celtic Samhain all rolled into one night of revelry and fun. You can dress in your favorite Theatrical costumes, like vampires, a pirate, fairy, angel, and even a werewolf. Both men and women can have fun on this Holiday wearing fashions they never thought to wear. It doesn't matter if you choose a Sexy Halloween Costume or a silly one, you will have fun dressing up.

Sexy Costumes can allow a couple that has an attraction to each other to simply dress up in something they would normally not wear. It is not about being scandalous but about having fun. You can pretend you are a historical hero or heroine right out of the history books, or choose something more modern, like your favorite mascot. Many Halloween costumes are a way to mimic a supernatural creature, or someone seen on TV.

While at your costume or Halloween party, you could bob for apples, have contest on which Costume is the best, Carve jack-o'-lanterns, go to a Bonfire and in some places like Ireland see Fireworks. It is not only about the sweets though that is a major part, it can also be another way to give gifts and have fun. Imagine you and your friends dressing as the same characters and not only be the bells of the ball but have a great laugh as well.

Halloween was originally called Samhain and was a Pagan Festival among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. This tradition spread to North America and Scottish immigrants brought their customs with them. Halloween is celebrated in many parts of the Western World and though the most common is the United States, places like Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand celebrate it as well.

This time honored tradition of dressing up and having fun can be a trying time for some. The boom of online costume stores has changed this, however, and many can be bought worldwide. If you are worried that something does not fit, then you might like to know that there are charts and even customer service specialists to help you find just the right size and look.

These stores carry everything from 20s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and the 80s clothing to Egyptian, Medieval & Renaissance, which are also great for the Renaissance Fairs popping up all around. They also have fairytale legends, military and uniforms, maids, and of course, the belly dancer as well. Belly dancing has become a popular exercise and what better way to show off all your hard work than with a sexy belly dancing costume.

Popular halloween costumes

Every year you can see some trendy costume that swarms past your door in droves. Many youngsters may be dressing up like politician Barack Obama, Mc Cain etc. Look for celebrity costume like Bernie Mac, George Carlin, Heath Ledger, Tim Russert etc. It is very difficult to convince your child to be something different when he wants to be a Batman and she wants to be Hannah Montana. It would be better if you allow them to dress up the way they want to, otherwise you may feel guilty later. This season some of the hot costumes for kids are High school Musical characters, Iron Man, Speed racer, Transformers, Harry Potter, Power Rangers and Chronicles of Narnia. Many youngsters would love to wear Twilight series characters. Some teens may love to wear Prom Night and other horror flicks. Popular couple costumes include Ketchup and Mustard, Salt and Pepper, Flintstones, Jet sons, disco couples, Adam & Eve. Couples can choose Ball and chain, Tacky Travelers, Indiana Jones characters, Batman and Joker. Regis and Kelly, Santa and Tooth Fairy, a sexy doctor and nurse, Dog the Bounty hunter character, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are all good couple choice as well.

Some funny Halloween costumes this year include Taco, Caveman, King Crab, Nerd, and Ninja etc. If you want to look vulgar this year you have a new range of costumes to choose from like Genie in the Lamp, Anita Waxin and Borat Mankini etc. This year wear a costume of your own style. You and your partner can go with a funny local personality, or as TV characters, or dress up like a ghost of your choice. Have fun this Halloween.

It would be nice if you celebrate environmental friendly Halloween. Challenge the kids to reduce, recycle and reuse. Some Green Halloween costumes like poke around the house, in the attic, in the basement, in the garage etc. can be worn by kids. Kids will have a great time going through the fashions of the ages and laughing till they ache that mommy actually wore a cowboy hat and leather-fringed jacket. In addition to recycled green costumes, families can think outside the plastic pumpkin candy box. Halloween is a great time to start learning to celebrate sustainability.


You can also dress up like Star signs. Arians are born leaders so boys would love to look like a superhero: Batman, Spider Man and Superman. Girls would dress up like Batgirl or Catwomen. Taurus is very conservative. They don't like attracting a lot of attention to themselves. So people who are born under this sign might choose: Batman, Bat woman, Pinocchio, Ghost, Vampire or Werewolf. Gemini's are fun loving person. They can enjoy in any occasion. They can wear a witch, devil, mummy costume. You can dress up the way you want to in a Halloween night.

Safety Measures for Halloween Costumes

Halloween is a beautiful day which comes up with more excitement and value for the children and parents. Halloween is an excitement day which cherishes the children and enrich them with full of happiness. Most of the children may cause injury, due to their carelessness and happiness. Halloween safety is insisted on the child to preserve any accidents and injuries. Safety measures should be taken for the day, to flourish the day with memorable incidents. Sometimes the child may cause accidents or injuries due to their dresses or costumes. To avoid such accidents, safety measures should be taken on the costumes. Selection of dress on the day should be made carefully and it should be fire proofed dress.

It is the responsibility of the parents to keep the child carefully and prevent against any accidents or injuries. Safe Halloween makes the day forgettable and memorable day for both the children and parents. Proper selection and good designing of costumes makes the child safety. Proper selection of costume is an important and essential should be taken by the parents for their children. Most of the parents do not take proper care for their children and they face the problem of accidents and injury for their children. Halloween costumes should be selected and designed properly, to protect the child against accidents and injuries.

Some of the measures used to avoid accidents and injuries are

The Halloween costume selected for the day should be designed in such way it is a fire proof material. Halloween costumes should be designed in loose costumes, so that the child can be protected. Sometimes, warm clothes may cause injury to the child. Halloween costumes should not be so loose or tight. It should be produced properly and normally. Costumes designed should not be too long, because sometimes the child may falls down in the crowd and cause severe injury. Proper selection of costumes is must and selection should be made in such way that the child will not get any accident or injury.

Proper tips and measures should be taken fir the day to make the day a memorable and remarkable one. Halloween costumes are the remarkable costumes which every child concentrates more on that. So, that Halloween costumes should be selected based on the weather, climate, and safety. The above said measures are the important measures which both the parents and children have to concentrate more. These measures will surely protect the children against any damages. Halloween measures are more required for the children and parents and cherish the day with happiness and sweet memories.

Amazing, Fast And Simple Halloween Costume Ideas For Kids

For toddlers Halloween costumes are available all around and even few Grocery stores sell them. You may opt for a Produced Halloween costume or you can make one of your own if you've got sufficient amount.

From popular people costumes are not only famous but also they are easy to put in. The perfect manner to dress up your toddler in a famous person costume is to go with the outfit the popular person. Best instance is that one can dress up like Waldo from the Waldo books by wearing on a red striped red/white shirt along with blue pant and finishing touch with a red and white cap.

Over 30 year's superman costume is the best liked costume by the kids. This costume has a range of varieties available in commercial and homemade versions. Nearly all the costumes comprise with tights, bodysuit in red and blue and a red cape. Most of the kids cover their neck with a towel around their necks when acting like a superman and therefore superman costume is of great fun and joy even after Halloween.

There will be smiles on all faces brought by the clown. These clown costumes can be simple and toddlers may use wigs and also make use of colored hair spray in order to change their color. In order to bring the look of the clown use make up or a big nose. Either you can use make up which are available in different types or can also use a mask. Main three things to keep in mind with this clown costume are just have fun take it light and happy. This costume is to stay happy and just bring happiness on others face. As it is a Halloween day you also make your child wear scary costume if he/she is well enough to handle it.

Another idea which all of fun is dragon costume. Along the center of the back works well for a dragon costume a body suit that has scales/spikes. A lot of commercial costumes are available for toddlers who want to dress up like dragons.

Knights who kill dragons may go trick-or-treating with your dragon. Dressing your kids with the theme of dragons and knights is of great joy and may help to motivate a playful theme amid your kids for Halloween. With movies such as Eragon becoming so famous, these costumes are going to augment in popularity.

Sponge Bob is full of fun and joyous character that children can dress up as for Halloween. A pair of brown shorts, black belt, and a yellow shirt with circles to make it appears like sponge holes, and a silly look on their face will inclusive your Sponge Bob costume. If you are in need of more realistic Sponge Bob costume, you may find them for comparatively low-priced commercially as well. With all the possibilities which are available there ought to be quite a varied range of costumes at your next costume party.

Operation Costume

Spooky Astronomy - Halloween is a big night for astronomers.

October 27, 2005: According to the National Retail Foundation, the most popular Halloween costume last year was Spiderman. Next was "a princess," followed by witches and vampires, SpongeBob, Barbie and Harry Potter.

Sounds about right. But if you read the complete list of top costumes, you'll notice something missing: astronomers. There are no Sagans, no Galileos, not even a Hubble.

see captionAnd that's funny, because Halloween is an astronomical holiday.

It has to do with seasons: Halloween is a "cross-quarter date," approximately midway between an equinox and a solstice. There are four cross-quarter dates throughout the year, and each is a minor holiday: Groundhog Day (Feb. 2nd), May Day (May 1st), Lammas Day (Aug. 1st), and Halloween (Oct. 31st).

Right: Red crosses mark the year's cross-quarter dates. [More]

Long ago, "the Celts of the British Isles used cross-quarter days to mark the beginnings of seasons," says John Mosley of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. "Winter began with Halloween, [or as they called it, 'Samhain']. Halloween marked the transition between summer and winter, light and dark -- and life and death."

"On that one night, according to folklore, those who had died during the previous year returned for a final visit to their former homes. People set out food and lit fires to aid them on their journey -- but remained on guard for mischief the spirits might do."

And, so, something astronomical became something spooky. It's not the first time. Have you heard that comets are bad omens? Or that a full moon brings out werewolves? Astronomy and superstition are old friends.

This year Halloween has a new astronomical significance:

On Oct. 31st, the planet Mars is making its closest approach to Earth for the next 13 years. (13 years? Cross your fingers.) Technically speaking, the moment of closest approach occurs on Oct. 30th, a day before Halloween, but the difference in distance between the 30th and the 31st is too slight to matter.

Trick or Treaters will notice Mars rising in the east at sunset: sky map. It looks like a pumpkin-colored star, so intense that people in brightly-lit cities can see it. Some say it's blood red, but maybe that's just Halloween talking.

Mars will soar almost overhead at midnight (as seen from North America) and stay "up" all night long. Halloween 2005 is truly the night of Mars.

Above: Mars rising over Payson Arizona on Oct. 25, 2005. Credit: Chris Shur.

Because Mars is so close--only 69 million km away, which is close on the vast scale of the solar system--it looks great through a backyard telescope. Lately amateur astronomers have been watching dust storms swirl around Mars. They've seen icy-blue clouds gather over the Martian north pole, where it is winter. And they been sketching and photographing strange dark markings that dapple the planet's surface.

So--nothing against Spiderman, mind you--you might wish to reconsider your costume. Grab a telescope and be an astronomer. It is Halloween, after all.

Women costume Sexy on Halloween! Why?

Remember when you were a child, and for Halloween you would dress up in costumes similar to a cheerleader, a witch, or a cat? Well, as you got older, you were still able to dress up as those characters, just with fewer fabric and more push-up bras.

Celebrating Halloween in the 21st century for a woman means that it is the one night of the year you can walk during the streets in skimpy lingerie and as long as you have animal ears or a nurse's hat on, you can say it's just a Halloween costume.

For women, Halloween costume options are apparently endless. Halloween costume sites feature well over 700 different costume choices, all of which barely cover a person's body. Police costumes, nurse, bumblebee, sailor, school girl, and many more are options obtainable on nearly every Halloween costume website in every size.

Why is it that on one day of the year, women find it more socially satisfactory to bare their skin in a way they would frequently label badly?

In reality, many women aren't at ease enough with their bodies to sport risqué clothing on a regular basis. Because of the ease in which society labels women "sluts" or "skanks", now more than ever, females are tip-toeing around what they do, say, and where in order to avoid the harsh typecast.

However, on Halloween night it's become usual, almost expected, that women run around bars and parties, scantily clad in costumes that unclearly resemble animals or figures of authority. In the movie "Mean Girls", Lindsay Lohan's character Cady is ignorant of the "sexy Halloween costume" rule, and shows up to a party dressed in a full Zombie Bride costume, complete with unattractive fake teeth and a dress that covered most of her body. She was unsurprisingly out of place.

It's most probable that the trend of sexy Halloween costumes evolved from teenagers and young adults still deficient to celebrate Halloween, but in a more adult way. With the fame of events such as lingerie themed parties and wet t-shirt contests, it seemed only fitting that Halloween be twisted into a holiday to celebrate the near-naked female body.

It can feel empowering for a woman to wear a skimpy French Maid costume and be able to parade around self-assuredly in it. On Halloween, women aren't judged on the clothes that they wear, and are instead highly praised for accentuating their body confidently.

Halloween also allows some women to spoil in their fantasies of role-play or dressing sexy without fear of apparent strange or awkward.

A Few Good Halloween Face Makeup Ideas

There are numerous Halloween face makeup ideas that anyone with reasonable skills can try and benefit from. In the case of children there are especially many good ideas that can be used to paint the faces of kids of all ages, and some are equally as interesting when used for making-up an adult's face. The first idea in regard to Halloween face makeup is painting a pumpkin on each cheek. For this Halloween face makeup idea you will need to make use of black paint that will cover your nose, eyes as well as mouth with edges painted light gray to create an outline.

Orange Colored Pumpkin Face

You can also choose to follow a simple Halloween face makeup tip that invites you to paint the entire face as a pumpkin of orange color that along with black triangles over the eyes and a black colored nose as well as the same colored mouth can prove to be an exciting option.

Another Halloween face makeup idea is to paint the face in the form of a skull. This design can be used for the entire face in which you will be required to create large and black colored panda eyes along with lips painted in black and white stripes that along with a trace of blood trickling from each side of the face can create a very striking countenance. This is a particularly bright Halloween face makeup for a more spooky Halloween party.

In a similar vein, you can use other Halloween face makeup ideas such as painting the face as a vampire which requires using white color for the face with lips painted red and with fangs protruding out of each corner of your lower lips. The eyelids can be colored a shade of gray and the eye brows can be exaggerated with black colored and sweeping strokes.

Finally, you can transform your face into the shape of a bat by using another Halloween face makeup idea. Here again your face will have a white colored base with a bat's face being painted on your forehead and in black color; the body of the bat can also be painted black and should decorate your nose with the wings extending out from the bat's head and body and covering your eyes and toward the temple and down again to mid cheek level. The lips can be painted dark gray with a big curl at the corner of each lip.

When applying Halloween makeup it makes sense to choose using a good Halloween makeup kit that often comes with accompanying instructions to help you get the desired effect. These kits can make the daunting endeavor of getting the Halloween makeup right that much easier and so is well worth considering.