Apple bobbing, also known as bobbing for apples, a game played on Halloween.
The game is played by filling a tub or a large basin with water and putting apples in the water.
Because apples are less dense than water, they will float at the surface.
Players (usually children) then try to catch one with their teeth.
Use of hands is not allowed, and often are tied behind the back to prevent cheating.
In Scotland this may be called "dooking,"i.e. ducking.
In Ireland, mainly Co. Kerry it is known as "Snap Apple",
and in Newfoundland and Labrador, Snap Apple Night is a synonym name for Halloween.
There is a variation on the game where the apples are hung on string on a line.
An old Irish folk tale tells of Stingy Jack, a lazy yet shrewd farmer who uses a cross to trap the Devil. One story says that Jack tricked the Devil into climbing an apple tree, and once he was up there Jack quickly placed crosses around the trunk or carved a cross into the bark, so that the Devil couldn't get down. Another myth says that Jack put a key in the Devil's pocket while he was suspended upside-down.
Girls who place the apple they bobbed under their pillows are said to dream of their future lover.
Apple bobbing originates from Celtic times when Halloween was called Samhain in some Gaelic languages,
when apples were associated with love or fertility.
Some say this comes from the Roman goddess Pomona
whilst others note that this game is an important part of the Celtic pagan
religious festival of Samhain when families would gather together for a communal feast.
In the United States, the carved pumpkin was first associated with the harvest season in general,
long before it became an emblem of Halloween.
The poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who was born in 1807,
wrote "The Pumpkin" (1850):
Oh!—fruit loved of boyhood!—the old days recalling, When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling! FolkloreAn old Irish folk tale tells of Stingy Jack, a lazy yet shrewd farmer who uses a cross to trap the Devil. One story says that Jack tricked the Devil into climbing an apple tree, and once he was up there Jack quickly placed crosses around the trunk or carved a cross into the bark, so that the Devil couldn't get down. Another myth says that Jack put a key in the Devil's pocket while he was suspended upside-down. Another version of the myth says that Jack was getting chased by some villagers from whom he had stolen, when he met the Devil, who claimed it was time for him to die. However, the thief stalled his death by tempting the Devil with a chance to bedevil the church-going villagers chasing him. Jack told the Devil to turn into a coin with which he would pay for the stolen goods (the Devil could take on any shape he wanted); later, when the coin/Devil disappeared, the Christian villagers would fight over who had stolen it. The Devil agreed to this plan. He turned himself into a silver coin and jumped into Jack's wallet, only to find himself next to a cross Jack had also picked up in the village. Jack had closed the wallet tight, and the cross stripped the Devil of his powers; and so he was trapped. In both myths, Jack only lets the Devil go when he agrees never to take his soul. After a while the thief died, as all living things do. Of course, his life had been too sinful for Jack to go to heaven; however, the Devil had promised not to take his soul, and so he was barred from hell as well. Jack now had nowhere to go. He asked how he would see where to go, as he had no light, and the Devil mockingly tossed him an ember that would never burn out from the flames of hell. Jack carved out one of his turnips (which was his favourite food), put the ember inside it, and began endlessly wandering the Earth for a resting place. He became known as "Jack of the Lantern", or Jack-o'-Lantern. A big thank you Anna for hosting this wonderful blog party mwah x |
Wow... this is an amazing post. So many wonderful things here. Thank you for sharing. xx
ReplyDeleteI celebrate the Day of the Dead every year and your art was just beautiful. Thank you so much and if you feel like having a drink of tea with me and my ancestors, we'd love to see you. Thank you for the wonderful party.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.yearcats.com/2010/10/22/drinking-tea-with-the-ancestors/
Wonderful, this is just so enchanting, you have added such wonderful information and depth to this post! I adore your work, just splendid!
ReplyDeleteDelightfully spooky and beautiful, too! Thank you for inviting us to this wonderful event! Absolutely stunning. :)
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't already done so, please feel free to stop by my little owl tea party:
http://faeriemooncreations.blogspot.com/2010/10/little-witch-and-owls-halloween-tea.html
Enjoy the parties!
Theresa
Thank you so much for letting me join in your tea party. It was wonderfully spooky. I loved your face make up. Wonderful artwork and all the extras
ReplyDeletePlease stop by for a spell
http://candydelane.typepad.com/curiosities/
Spells and Wishes,
Wendy from Wonderland
WOw- this is a keeper! so thorough - we spent the afternoon making sugar skulls actually - really - love yours and the art! - please do come on over to our Tea Party Halloween Tea Party at http://lenorita-lenoramoore.blogspot.com/2010/10/jack-o-lantern-halloween-tea-party.html! also you may enjoy our graveyard tribute to los dias de los muertos found prior to our party and you may wish to honour a memory on our memory wall honouring the dead! Enjoy - this was so great!
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh!
ReplyDeletewhat an awesome post!!!
love the Dia De Los Muertos theme of it all. what a cool make up tutorial!
thank you for such an entertaining party.
Hi Tracey - thank you for such a WONDERFUL post for the tea party! I love tellings of tales and traditions.... and the telling is such a lost art!
ReplyDeleteblessings,
Pauline
What an awesome post!! Thank you so much for sharing all of this with us. I so love sugar skulls! Your art is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteBrightest Blessings, Seshat
http://seshatmoonwillow.blogspot.com
Oh this was so wonderful. Dios de los Muertas is a beautiful tradition. Thank you so much for sharing it along with the lovely Halloween treats and all the amazing art! Thank you for joining me for my tea party under a Halloween moon.
ReplyDeleteAnna
The art created for the Day of The Dead is so evocative of what one would like to think death is like....I guess what I am trying to say is that when I look upon the images, they aren't frightening at all to me but rather interesting and curious and depict little if any feeling of sadness.
ReplyDeleteLovely work by your hubby and your son looks like he had some fun as well.
Thanks for sharing the tutorial, history of HALLOWEEN and giving us some leads to creating the art form. I would love to try it someday.
I'm Having a draw for a seashell soldered bottle on Halloween Night Sunday October 31st/2010, so do try and drop in for a spell and a chance at winning my bottle.
The Wood Beyond The World
http://thewoodbeyondtheworld.blogspot.com/
HAPPY HALLOWEEN !
•*´¨***~^..^~*Annabelle¸.•*´¨*¸*´¨*
Finally catching up on all the Enchanting Full Moon Tea Parties. Love your beautiful blog & all your PICs. October 23 was my third Blogoversary, so October is a spooktacular Celebration month.
ReplyDeletePlease fly by for my giveaways too...
Hauntingly Yours, Lyndy
My Haunted Halloween Party Link:
http://bit.ly/dho880
TODAYSGOLD
http://todaysgold.blogspot.com/
I just wanted to say thank you for your kind comment on my blog during the Practical Magic Blog Party even though I was in the process of moving.
ReplyDeleteThe art on your blog is fantastic as are the ravens. :) Blessings and Happy Dia de Los Muertos.