More Historical Halloween Information 2
Foods are also associated with Halloween, and apples and nuts play a large part of lore. In one fortune telling game, peeling an apple by a young woman and throwing it over her shoulder, would land the peel in the shape of the person’s soon to be betrothed. These connections to apples and nuts are ancient and Nutcrack Night and Snap Apple night are noted. Tarot cards and palm readings have replaced these now.
‘Mischief Night’ is the name given to the night before Halloween. Soaping windows and winding toilet tissue around trees are common ‘mischiefs.’ Because mischief can spiral out of control many communities now ban this type of behavior.
Halloween has many symbols. Witches and black cats have their roots in European beliefs of the 1500s and 1600s when people thought witches and cats rode through the night on Halloween. Superstitions also included fairies and ghosts and pleas for help to these entities became popular. Lanterns with grotesque faces were used to scare off malicious spirits. The Scots lit bonfires to discourage evil spirits. This led to remembrances of the dead by bonfires on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. Bonfires are no longer as common but have been replaced by Jack-o-Lanterns. Ghosts, goblins and witches still remain as symbols.
