Practiced on

Samhain, Halloween

Country of Origin 

Rome, possbly earlier

Examples/Variations

Apple on a String

Key Points / Halloween Connection

- Apples were included in rituals as they are a sign of health and fertility and were originally used as a marriage and divination ritual to see a future partner

Brief Bio

Apple bobbing, also known as bobbing for apples, is a game often played on Halloween and Bonfire Night. 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 arms is not allowed, and the hands are often tied behind the back to prevent cheating.

In Scotland, this may be called "dooking" (i.e., ducking). In northern England, the game is often called apple ducking or duck-apple. In Ireland and Newfoundland and Labrador, "Snap Apple Night" is a synonym for Halloween. Another variation involves using the mouth to drop a fork from above to 'catch' the apple.

The current game dates back to when the Romans conquered Britain, bringing with them the apple tree, a representation of the goddess of fruit trees, Pomona. The combination of Pomona, a fertility goddess, and the Celts' belief that the pentagram was a fertility symbol began the origins of bobbing for apples. When an apple is sliced in half, the seeds form a pentagram-like shape, and it is thought that the manifestation of such a symbol meant that the apple could be used to determine marriages during this time of year. From this belief comes the game bobbing for apples. During the annual celebration, young unmarried people try to bite into an apple floating in water or hanging from a string; the first person to bite into the apple would be the next one to marry.

Both apple bobbing and an apple on a string in 18th-century Ireland are mentioned by Charles Vallancey in his book Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis

A maiden who placed the apple she bobbed under her pillow was said to dream of her future sweetheart.