dress up?

I have been watching various statuses over the past few days as people are gearing toward Hallowe'en and one thing that keeps popping up is the question (from adult to adult): What are you wearing for hallowe'en. Now when I was a kids, adults didn't dress up which then begs the question: What is it, in dressing up that attracts adults?

A few answers come to mind:

1) Its a bit of a regression state when we adults get to play.

This is a compelling answer. Many adults these days do not take the time to play and we live in a world where there is constant stress: be that as a result of early dysfunction or be that a result of just trying to survive in today's economic structure. Regardless of the root (did I really just say that?) perhaps dressing up is just a time that we get to play and be young at heart without the fear of being judged. For is not Hallowe'en about dressing up and having fun? Perhaps it is merely an excuse to be a kid again (something akin to Disneyland!)

2) It is a means to allow a hidden identity to emerge.

Now this answer demands a deeper consideration. As children, many of us had fantasies of what we would like to be. Loosely speaking for boys it was the hero and loosely speaking for girls it somehow stems around being beautiful and loved. Now look at the commercial costumes for adults. For men: Heros or Villians, and for women: something beautiful, sexy or sultry. So is hallowe'en an excuse for us to release those wishes we had as children and be those things that we wish we were but know we are not?

3) Is it a time when we can take our outer masks off?

Hallowe'en is a time of putting masks on so why do I talk of taking them off? Hold on and bear with me. In life we all wear masks that hide our true identity, the one that only we know ourselves as. We wear a mask of employee or boss, husband or wife, mother or father, social butterfly.....the list goes on. But how often are we transparent, how often do we reveal our real and deep thoughts and dreams? Ninety nine percent of the time we filter before we reveal what we allow others to see. So is hallowe'en then a time when we turn our internal filter off and reveal those deeper things that make us who we are. Take a hero vs. villian. We have both motivations in us.....and in our daily life we may be one more than the other....so does Hallowe'en allow our alter ego to emerge for a night? Instead of the lawyer always fighting for justice, on Hallowe'en he becomes the villian? Of the guy at work who is always stirring the pot and being a s*%t disturber...on Hallowe'en he becomes the hero?

What do you think?