Traditional Halloween Icons Get 21st Century Imagery

Holidays wont be complete without the iconic symbols they have come to be associated with in the minds of those celebrating their festive airs

. You have St Nick and his elves in the North Pole during Christmas. You have Cupid and his arrows during Valentine. The Turkey on thanksgiving. On Halloween, theres no single festivity icon but a whole gang of them ghosts, ghouls, goblins, vampires and werewolves, witches and warlocks and just about all the macabre creatures of the night, both dead and undead. But these images have not remained static. When Halloween comes, which is just around the corner, expect some iconic updates, thanks to the emerging pop culture of the 21st century.

The Pumpkin with a scary face and the Skeleton

The human skeleton conjures up deathly images and is integral to Halloween celebrations. In the meantime, the Pumpkin is traditionally your Jack O Lantern that first started among Celtic tribes who carved scary faces on gourds that eventually figured as a lasting icon in Halloween celebrations. Both icons get a facelift makeover with the Jack Skelington figure popularized in Tim Burtons Night Before Christmas. Its both a stylized skeleton with a pumpkin head. Its not uncommon to see this Skeleton figure as part of the spooky dcor items flooding the malls in time for Halloween.

Witches, Warlocks and Wizards

Sorcery and witchcraft have always been linked with the Halloween traditions ever since it was celebrated from the time of the Celts and Druids. An element of mystery arising from the unexplainable occult and magic underpins - Halloween icons that never fail to add to the appeal of the occasion especially among the young. This is capitalized in many movies and games that thrive on the superhuman qualities and circumstance attending people gifted with magic and occult powers.

The Lord of The Rings series hinge on the magical legends of middle earth while the more direct magical elements are best essayed in the highly popular Harry Potter movies based on the equally popular J.K. Rowlings novels. The modern imageries created by these movies are a makeover from the faceless witches of past Halloweens.

Spiders and Bats

The creepy spider never fails to frighten the young and uninitiated. Same with the Bats which are widely known to be creatures of the night and have come to stand for anything dark and sinister. These Halloween icons have metamorphosed as comic book characters that have become part of the modern pop culture consciousness in the form of the Spider-Man and Batman super heroes. These characters reached their height of popularity with the success of the movies released during the last years of the 20th century with a continuing franchise going into the 21st.

New Halloween Imagery

The influence of movies and games on pop culture cannot be overstated. Christmas imagery will never be the same after movies have made St Nick and his Elves the focus in many successful cinematic excursions that have made the Yuletide character more familiar to kids than he ever was.

In a similar fashion, new icons are emerging under the same cinematic influence in way Halloween is observed. You how have the decrepit zombies popularized in the Resident Evil games and movies. You have Jason of Friday the 13th series and Freddy in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchises. These, together with other imagery updates on the traditional Halloween icons are sure to enliven the festive airs of what is basically a celebration of the dead. GP

by: Benedict Smythe

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