Certain traditional games and food items have always been associated with Halloween.
But what are these traditions, and where did they come from?
One of the earliest foods associated with Halloween were soul cakes.
Soul cakes were small, round cakes handed out to the poor on All Hallows’ Day (November
1st).
These cakes are usually viewed as one of the earliest forms of trick-or-treating.
Soul cakes are still made and distributed to children in parts of England.
Another Halloween food tradition, which has survived the years, is the Irish treat known
as Barmbrack.
Barmbrack is a pastry similar to a sweet bread and usually made with raisins.
Barmbrack is an important part of the Irish Halloween custom.
Traditionally, a small object would be baked into the barmbrack.
The objects included a pea, a stick, a piece of cloth, a coin, or a ring.
It was believed that the object found in the barmbrack would symbolize something about
that person’s future.
For example, the cloth symbolized bad luck, the coin meant the person might become wealthy,
and the ring meant the individual might be getting married within the next year.
Candy apples are yet another staple of the holiday.
These are whole apples that are usually served on a stick, and the apple is covered with
a hard candy coating (in other countries these are known as toffee apples).
A similar treat to the candy apple is the caramel apple, which is an apple dipped in
caramel rather than the hard candy coating.
Of course, the modern American Halloween food traditions revolve around candy.
Candy of every variety from candy corn to chocolate is given away to trick-or-treaters
and party-goers throughout the holiday season, particularly on the evening of October 31st.
By far, the most popular game or pastime associated
with Halloween is bobbing for apples.
Bobbing for apples dates back to the Ancient Roman festival of Pomona, in which Romans
celebrated the fall harvest.
Apple bobbing involves placing apples in a large water basin and plucking them out using
only the teeth.
Sometimes, coins would be placed in the apples as a prize for those competing.
Other times, coins would be placed at the bottom of the basin, and children could attempt
to retrieve those as well, using only their mouths.
Another popular game involving apples featured hanging apples from strings.
Competitors were then challenged to eat the apples with their hands tied behind their
backs.
A popular variation of this game placed a boy on one side of the apple and a girl on
the other, with each trying to be the first to eat their half of the apple.
Other Halloween pastimes included attempting to predict the future.
One tradition was to peel an apple in one long strip, then toss the peel over your shoulder.
The belief was that the peel would land in the shape of a letter representing the name
of your future spouse.
A common ancient ritual for unmarried women involved sitting in front of a mirror inside
a dark room.
In this case, the belief was that if she sat and stared at the mirror long enough, she
would eventually see the face of her future husband.
One popular Halloween tradition that has stood the test of time is the telling of ghost stories.
The telling of ghost stories dates back to the earliest Celtic customs associated with
their holiday, Samhain.
This was a holiday in which they believed that deceased relatives would return to walk
the Earth.
In more modern times, one of the most popular Halloween pastimes is the watching of horror
films or Halloween-themed television programs.
In many cases, revelers will gather in large groups and watch these movies together.