"Snap-apple night! ... the very best of all the sports, so far as the children were concerned, was snap-apple. It was the most spectacular and the most exciting.
The snap-apple contrivance
was hung by a string to the ceiling; two rosy apples were affixed, alternated
with two candle ends lighted; then the affair was set revolving briskly, and
the fun began. And this fun was not confined to the small folk. Young men and
women, staid men and matrons, and even the old folks sometimes took part in the
merriment. Each and every one tried to "snap" an apple. Few, very
few, were successful; the candle was always treacherously close to the apple,
and some of the most venturesome carried away smarting reminders of that fact. There were, besides (when the colcannon feature of the evening was passed), various games, some of which are as well known in this country as in Ireland, such as diving for silver pieces in tubs of water, or trying to capture with the mouth, unaided by the hands, apples floating in the same liquid. There was a great deal of uproarious fun in these games. They pleased the children mightily, and even the children of larger growth were not ashamed to take part in them at times. For youths and maidens sentimentally inclined there was lead to be melted and nuts to be burned to ascertain facts(?) of the future…"
The Rosary Magazine. Somerset, Ohio: 1905
"Snap-Apple Night" Daniel Maclise, 1833
Snap-apple
A description from Scotland -
"It was when the tea [served after dark] was over that the simple
Halloween amusement commenced in the kitchen. From the ceiling there were
suspended light wood-work crosses, some two feet across, by a string fastened
in the centre, so that the cross swung horizontally. On two of the points small
sockets, to hold a candle, had been fastened, and the other ends sharpened to a
fine point, so that apples could be fixed by being forced on the points. Small
pieces of lighted candle were placed in the sockets, and two fine, rosy-cheeked
apples were placed on the alternate points.
"Now then, boys, who's for snap-apple?" shouted Mr.
Balderson.
Half-a-dozen boys stepped forward with their jackets off and tight
fitting "bishops," as the pinafores were called, over them. A gentle
circular motion was given to the cross. Snap, went one of the boys at the
biggest apple with a view of biting, and ere he could catch it, one of the
lighted candles came full into his half-opened mouth, amid the laughter of the
bystanders.
"Never mind, Jock," shouted Mr. Balderson. "Now, Willie,
lad," said he, encouragingly, to a smaller boy who cautiously tried on the
other; bob went the apple, and Willie ducked his head when the candle came
round. Another lad tried, and again failed. Jock, as he was called, and Willie
kept the fun up by repeated attempts to secure the apples. It was laughable to
see the boys with their hands tied by their side darting again and again at the
swinging rotary apples, until a loud shout proclaimed that Willie had secured
the first prize. By a little practice and a small amount of caution, it was
found possible to seize the apples without getting burnt, or obtaining tallow
instead of fruit."
Routledge’s Every Boy’s Annual.
London: 1871
lead melted (center) and nuts to be burned (left)
While Maureen the lead was melting…
There was Kate, and her
sweet-heart Will,
In nuts their true-love burning…
Ducking for apples
For an 1860s Apple Ducking or bobbing for apples image and description including "some tender mammas, timorous on the subject of
their offspring catching cold" (nothing new) click HERE
©2013 Patricia Bixler Reber
hearthcook.com
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I'd always wondered where the custom of bobbing for apples came from. Thanks for posting this.
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