If you’ve been following our Halloween series in the Diddly Magazine, you’re probably not going to be surprised by this fact: The Halloween tradition of bobbing for apples is, of course,  from the Celts (along with jack-o’-lanterns, barmbrack bread, and the list goes on and on.)

I discovered this fact when I was looking at a painting by an Irish artist of a Halloween celebration in Blarney, Co. Cork from 1832.  (Click here to see the painting by Daniel Maclise.) A few of the subjects in the painting are bobbing for apples and there is also another set of people playing a take on the game which incorporates an apple hanging from a string attached to a stick.  (I’m sure you can imagine the endless possibilities of good Halloween fun with the latter.)

Bobbing for apples originated at the Celtic harvest festival Samhain. The apple was an important part of the feast celebrations as it was seen as a sign of fertility and love. The significance placed on the apple permeated into what we know today as bobbing for apples. Interestingly, the current version of the game is based on a New Year (Samhain was often seen as not only a harvest celebration but also the New Year) tradition where whoever bites the apple first will be the first to marry in the coming year.

Next time you bob for apples (even though it’s a dying game because – let’s be honest – it’s kind of icky), think of the Celts and what the Halloween apple really signifies.

Image Source; Source

Related posts:

1. Let Halloween Barmbrack Predict Your Future
2. Halloween’s Celtic Connection
3. Pre-Christian Celts and the Legend of Saint Brigid
4. Montreal Goes Big for March 17th!
5. An Interesting Celtic Ritual, the Burning of a Wicker Man