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#Post#: 82173--------------------------------------------------
Do apples feature in traditional American Halloween?
By: Aleko Date: November 1, 2025, 3:13 am
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I've once again been observing how in the last decade or so the
traditional English Halloween has been completely swamped by
imported American merchandise, to the extent that everybody
knows instinctively that a particular shade of orange =
Halloween-themed, even though pumpkins aren't native to Europe
and weren't grown and rarely ever imported here before the
millennium. (The early settlers in New England were used to
carving their Halloween lanterns out of turnips, but finding no
turnips in the New World they made do with pumpkins instead.)
I was wondering whether any of the traditional customs are still
practised at home, and it occurred to me for the first time what
a large part apples played in the Halloween of my youth. At
parties on 31 October apple-bobbing (apples are floating in a
tub of water, and you have to kneel down with your hands behind
your back and grab one with your teeth) was absolutely de
rigueur. It's a fun party game, but unlike other party games
such as Pin the Tail on the Donkey, it was only ever played at
Halloween. Nobody ever said this, it was just understood. And of
the many ways in which one could predict one's future on that
night, by far the commonest was to peel an apple all in one
strip without breaking it and, standing up and not looking
backwards, throw it with the right hand over the left shoulder.
Then turn around and look, and it will have fallen in the shape
of the initial of the person you're destined to marry.
Well, of course apples are in season in October, so it's natural
that they would be eaten and used at any festival taking place
then (the same is true of turnips), but they are also
traditionally a magical fruit (think Eve and the serpent, Snow
White, many Grimm tales) so I wonder if there's more to it than
that. And whether there are Halloween apple customs where you
live?
#Post#: 82174--------------------------------------------------
Re: Do apples feature in traditional American Halloween?
By: vintagegal Date: November 1, 2025, 8:43 am
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I've always heard of bobbing for apples, may have done it once
or twice as a kid. I doubt anyone does it anymore.
#Post#: 82175--------------------------------------------------
Re: Do apples feature in traditional American Halloween?
By: Rho Date: November 1, 2025, 9:41 pm
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Bobbing for apples was associated with Halloween in America for
years. I haven't heard about it in a while because it is now
considered unsanitary. No Halloween/Apple customs otherwise
that I know of. Candy Coated apples are less popular too.
Skeletins, zombies, gravestones etc have gained in popularity
for decore.
#Post#: 82177--------------------------------------------------
Re: Do apples feature in traditional American Halloween?
By: lowspark Date: November 3, 2025, 1:46 pm
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I remember bobbing for apples as a kid and I hated it. Glad it's
gone as a tradition because it's really just a big tub of saliva
after about the third kid. Plus it's just hard to do.
I have also seen it set up by hanging the apples by a string
instead of putting them in a tub of water. Still hard but maybe
not quite as gross.
I don't necessarily remember it as specific to Halloween
although that does make sense.
I do remember apples being a legitimate trick-or-treat bag
filler. I remember always coming home with one or two in my
halloween bag at the end of the night. I don't think any of us
ever ate them though. Who wants an apple when there's all that
candy!
I don't know what my mom did with them. Probably threw them
away.
Then someone (supposedly) stuck razor blades in the apples they
handed out so that put an end to that.
I say "supposedly" because who knows. Might have happened. Might
have been urban legend. But anyway, that was the story when I
was a kid.
#Post#: 82178--------------------------------------------------
Re: Do apples feature in traditional American Halloween?
By: Hmmm Date: November 3, 2025, 3:06 pm
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We did bobbing for apples a few times as a child but I don't
think it is done anymore. I know my kids were never introduced
to it.
Other apple related things from my youth for Halloween were
candied apples or caramel apples. We did them at one Halloween
party we hosted for the kids one year. I remembered why they
seem to loose favor for Halloween. They took forever to make and
only a couple of bites of any of the apples were eaten... which
was the same as when I was young.
#Post#: 82181--------------------------------------------------
Re: Do apples feature in traditional American Halloween?
By: lowspark Date: November 4, 2025, 8:30 am
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Ah yes! Candied apples! I don't think I've seen one in a long
time. I remember eating them as a kid though. The candy was the
red, hard, stick-in-your-teeth kind of stuff and not a whole lot
of the apple itself got eaten.
I do see caramel apples sometimes for sale in candy/chocolate
stores. I often wonder who still buys those.
Candied and caramel apples are hard to eat, messy, and IMO not
all that great. They do LOOK quite tempting though.
#Post#: 82182--------------------------------------------------
Re: Do apples feature in traditional American Halloween?
By: Titanica Date: November 4, 2025, 9:42 am
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[quote author=lowspark link=topic=2648.msg82181#msg82181
date=1762266605]
Ah yes! Candied apples! I don't think I've seen one in a long
time. I remember eating them as a kid though. The candy was the
red, hard, stick-in-your-teeth kind of stuff and not a whole lot
of the apple itself got eaten.
I do see caramel apples sometimes for sale in candy/chocolate
stores. I often wonder who still buys those.
Candied and caramel apples are hard to eat, messy, and IMO not
all that great. They do LOOK quite tempting though.
[/quote]
I buy caramel apples, and I love them. Especially the ones
covered with peanuts!
#Post#: 82188--------------------------------------------------
Re: Do apples feature in traditional American Halloween?
By: Lula Date: November 6, 2025, 8:40 am
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Has anyone else ever made rotting corpse faces? You carve a
face into an apple and let it sit at room temperature for a few
days...
#Post#: 82190--------------------------------------------------
Re: Do apples feature in traditional American Halloween?
By: Aleko Date: November 6, 2025, 2:48 pm
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No, that’s a new one on me! Sounds very creepy. Though I do a
nice line in eyeballs: nurdle the centre out of a white pickled
onion and replace it with an anchovy-stuffed olive. They’re very
lifelike!
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