The Evolution of Raccoon Masquerade
A blog about how the maks dens have evolved through the years.
We are approaching the end of an era as we say goodbye to another raccoon masquerade season. As much as I love seeing all the creativity and joy these events bring, masquerades are a dying tradition that is not keeping up with our modern culture and values.
The first known mention of a raccoon masquerade was a drawing on a cave wall in the upper Midwest dating back to approximately 10,000 BC. We can only speculate about what the meaning behind it was, but what we know for sure is that this was long before raccoons were domesticated or even kept as pets. Hunting and trapping was still a large part of every day life, so wearing an animal’s skin in celebration would have been a natural way to honor them.
Masquerades were an important part of harvest festivals and solstice celebrations for many centuries after that, often taking place in densely wooded areas where people may not have had much light from their indoor lamps during winter months. The celebration would include dancing and singing around a fire with some wearing masks made from the skin of animals they had hunted for food throughout the year. These were later replaced by
The Evolution of Raccoon Masquerade
By: Darcy P. Lopata
As a child, Halloweens are the most memorable days of the year. One night where you can be anything you want and no one will make fun of you for it, such as being a superhero or a fairy. As children, we use our imagination to dress up as whatever we want to be and run around in our costume pretending that we really are what we’re dressed as. For many years my family has had a tradition of going trick-or-treating together so that everyone can see how cute we are in our costumes. For example, I was dressed up as a baby dinosaur while my brother was dressed up as Barney the Dinosaur and my sister was dressed up as Baby Bop. We all looked so cute! This blog post is about how masks have evolved through the years for raccoons during Halloween season.
The first mask I remember wearing for Halloween was a simple black mask with a white stripe across my eyes that covered my whole face except for mouth and ears. The mask didn’t cover any part of my neck, but it did cover all parts of my head and face, which made me feel safe from anything harmful in the environment.
The Evolution of Raccoon Masquerade
The most obvious and visible mouth mask is the one made by the Raccoon. This is the mask that has been used the longest, and it has had many different variations over time. The raccoon mask has evolved from a soft face mask to a hard-plastic mold that covers both the eyes and nose. Other masks are also known as “muzzles” as they cover only the nose and mouth, but often leave the face exposed.
Today’s masks are quite different from those used in earlier times. They come in all shapes and sizes, from simple, flat disks that cover just the nose and mouth to large, elaborate pieces of art that cover both the eyes and nose. There are even some masks that have an entire face carved into them!
In the middle of a dark October night, in the 1800’s, a young girl would see something horrifying. It was not a ghost or goblin. Instead, it was a group of trick-or-treaters at her door. At this time, the maks dens had not yet evolved into their modern form.
There were no costumes, just masks and candles. The trick-or-treaters would go to each house and ask for food or money in exchange for a song or prayer for the dead. This was called “souling”. In some accounts, if you did not give them anything they would damage your property, as well as put curses on you and your family.
In the early 1900’s, Halloween became more of an American tradition than it had been in previous centuries. It began to lose its religious roots and morphed into more of a secular celebration with parties, pranks and treats.
Trick-or-treating began to resemble what it is today. By the 1930’s kids started dressing up in costumes (some even wore pillowcases). Soon afterwards people started handing out candy and treats along with apples and homemade popcorn balls that they made themselves.
I have been studying the evolution of raccoon masquerade dens through out the years. It is interesting how they started out being very masquerade but now they are more modern.
Raccoon’s used to wear full body masks in the woods. It was a way for them to hide from predators and scare humans away. They were also trying to become one with nature when they wore these masks.
As time went on, their masks became less scary and more “party like”. They would still be able to hide from predators but their main purpose was to look cool and party all night long. This trend continues today as you can see from this photo:
It is clear that raccoons no longer need to scare predators away. Their dens have turned into party houses that are filled with hipsters and music. The raccoons have made it so you can only get into the party if you are wearing a mask, but those masks don’t even cover your whole face anymore!
The raccoon masquerade dens are no longer trying to scare people; they are just having fun!
Each year, an estimated 5.5 million kids dress up as raccoons and take to the streets to terrorize the elderly and defile property. Whether you’re a parent who wants to see your child in a fine raccoon costume, or you’re looking for a better way to hide your identity this Halloween, we at Raccoon Costume Rentals are here for you.
The raccoon masquerade has its roots in ancient Roman society. During one of their many festivals celebrating the god Mars, children would dress up as small foxes and dance in the street. It was later discovered that these “foxes” were actually small raccoons– the Romans just couldn’t tell the difference. The raccoon masquerade was born!
Over the years, the masks have evolved from mere fabric sheets with holes cut out for eyes, to complex wire structures covered with fur and animal teeth. These days, parents can even buy masks that make realistic snarling sounds!
When I was a child, my grandmother would tell me stories of the old days. The time when she lived in the forest with her family. When Halloween came around everyone would dress up as witches and scare the children.
My grandmother would tell me that she made her own costume out of leaves and branches. One day, while I was playing in the woods, I found a small cabin. Inside were raccoon costumes! There looks like there were used to be a few more here but they are all gone now.
I went home and told my grandmother about it. She said that it must belong to the witch who lived in the forest. I asked her how she knew so much about witches and she told me that they used to live in a village far away from were we were now. She said that they all died out because of disease or something like that.
I went back to look at the costumes but they were gone! I had no idea what happened to them so I decided to find out for myself.