The origin of Halloween Games
Celts looked to the future at Samhain and could see ‘clues’ to the year ahead in the simplest things. Even peeling an apple could provide a clue to the name of a future wife or husband; if the peel was allowed to drop to the floor as it was peeled, it would form the initial letter of the lucky spouse. Apples also featured in the ‘ducking for apples’ game where the object is to retrieve an apple from a barrel or large bowl of water without using hands or feet. There was nothing particularly symbolic about the origin of Halloween games such as these. They are fun games in which all ages can participate, and apples were plentiful at this time of the year. Most other games and ‘rituals’ played out at Halloween were to do with courtship. Among them was the fortune-telling bowl of Colcannon. A ring (and sometimes a thimble, too) were mixed into a large bowl of this warming, simple dish which was placed in the middle of the table. Each person sitting around the table took a spoonful of the potato and cabbage mixture, dipping it into the well of melted butter at its centre. The person who found the ring was sure to be married within the year. The thimble denoted life without love and marriage. The origin of Halloween ‘trick or treating’ seems to have been a Druid ritual of collecting eggs, nuts and apples from the individual homes of the community. These offerings were meant to bring some protection from bad luck such as damage to crops or livestock in the next year. Those that were miserly in their offerings were likely to have a trick played on them. These pranks were harmless enough. They were intended to cause confusion ie changing the direction a gate opened. – See more at: http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/origin-of-Halloween.… he origin of Halloween games Celts looked to the future at Samhain and could see ‘clues’ to the year ahead in the simplest things. Even peeling an apple could provide a clue to the name of a future wife or husband; if the peel was allowed to drop to the floor as it was peeled, it would form the initial letter of the lucky spouse. Apples also featured in the ‘ducking for apples’ game where the object is to retrieve an apple from a barrel or large bowl of water without using hands or feet. There was nothing particularly symbolic about the origin of Halloween games such as these. They are fun games in which all ages can participate, and apples were plentiful at this time of the year. Most other games and ‘rituals’ played out at Halloween were to do with courtship. Among them was the fortune-telling bowl of Colcannon. A ring (and sometimes a thimble, too) were mixed into a large bowl of this warming, simple dish which was placed in the middle of the table. Each person sitting around the table took a spoonful of the potato and cabbage mixture, dipping it into the well of melted butter at its centre. The person who found the ring was sure to be married within the year. The thimble denoted life without love and marriage. The origin of Halloween ‘trick or treating’ seems to have been a Druid ritual of collecting eggs, nuts and apples from the individual homes of the community. These offerings were meant to bring some protection from bad luck such as damage to crops or livestock in the next year. Those that were miserly in their offerings were likely to have a trick played on them. These pranks were harmless enough. They were intended to cause confusion ie changing the direction a gate opened. – See more at: http://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/origin-of-Halloween.…
