LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Halloween Customs: Apples
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Halloween customs and traditions are explained in the next chapter. This includes explanations of where trick-or-treat came from, jack-o-lanterns, and dressing up in costumes. Tales are included for Halloween storytelling, and short poems and quotes are ... reported to add to the fun. The next chapter discusses Halloween symbols and superstitions, such as black cats, scarecrows, skeletons and vampires. All the scary motifs of Halloween are illustrated and the reader leans about the origins and history of each symbol. Various methods of fortune-telling, one fun Halloween activity, are shown in the chapter on Halloween divinations, and include procedures that use apples and pumpkin seeds.
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Bobbing for apples is a well-established custom on Halloween, synonymous with the Scottish "dukin". Apples were put into a barrel that had been filled to the brim with water and an individual would have to catch an apple by catching them in their mouth without using their hands. Once an apple had been caught, it was traditional to peel the apple and toss it over one's shoulder in the hope that the strips would fall into the shape of a letter. Whatever letter the peelings arranged into would be the first initial of the participant's true love. According to another superstition, the longer the peel, the longer the peeler's life would be. Some say that the first to get an apple would be the first to marry.
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Bobbing for apples is a well-established Bonfire Night custom now ... associated with Halloween. In the game, attempts are made with one's mouth only to catch an apple placed in a water-filled barrel. Once an apple is caught, it is sometimes peeled and tossed over the shoulder in the hope that the strips would fall into the shape of a letter, which would be the first initial of the participant's true love. According to another superstition, the longer the peel, the longer the peeler's life would be; some say that the first participant to get an apple would be the first to marry.
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Those living in the country may hold Halloween parties, often with a bonfire or, in some years, the older Irish custom of building two bonfires, with the celebrants passing between them. These parties usually involve games (often traditional games like bobbing for apples, searching for candy in a similar manner to Easter egg hunting, or a snipe hunt), a haunted hayride (often accompanied by a scary story and one or more masked and costumed people hiding in the dark to jump out and scare the riders), and treats (usually a bag of candy and/or homemade treats). Scary movies may ... be watched. Normally, the children are picked up by their parents at pre-determined times. However, it is not uncommon for these parties to include sleepovers.
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