You will see many kids roaming around fair grounds, children's parties and carnivals with painted faces. Face painting is one of the most popular activities for kids these days and booths can be found at almost every event. Face painting has been gaining ground the past couple of years and kids have been more than happy to close their eyes and sit still all in the name of having their face painted. Face painting started way back the early days of our ancestors and it's not a newly introduced activity. It dates back to hundreds or even thousands of years ago when warriors were the ones who had painted faces and where ancient tribes and cultures used face painting for religious purposes, some for camouflage and others to separate one tribe from the next. Some of the people who used face painting before were the Chinese, Native Americans, and the Egyptians.
Paint, brushes and sponges are the materials used for face painting. There are different categories of face paints. There are some face paints which you have to use water first before it will stick or blend with the brush. Face paint marker is another type of face paint which is usually black in color and is used to create the outline of the design. Another type of face paint is the face paint crayons. There were some who claim that this is the easiest to use and fastest to finish designing on faces. These crayons are usually in a box of 6 to 10 each crayon being a different color.
Face painting is Great for Kids
Tribes who used face painting as camouflage did it for hunting and for going into battle. They would also use paint from a natural source and design their face or sometimes, even their body with the same color as the surroundings. This would help them hide from their enemies or secretly sneak up on animals they were hunting. Even in religious purposes, ceremonies, and rituals, face painting is being used too. Some tribes believed that certain colors of face paint would give those wearing it powers.
Face painting is not only a fun activity to do for kids at parties, fairs and carnivals; it also has a very colorful history. Far much different from how we're using it today, face painting back then was rooted on power, tribes, and spiritual beliefs. Face painting invokes no harm in children but it would be much better if you could also explain to them the history of face painting.
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