Apple bobbing, also known as bobbing for apples, is a game often played on

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...

. 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 Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, this may be called "dooking"Apple dookers make record attempt
BBC News, 2 October 2008 (i.e., ducking). In northern England, the game is often called apple ducking or duck-apple. In

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

and

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, "Snap Apple Night" is a synonym for Halloween. Another variation involves using the mouth to drop a

Fork In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tine (structural), tines with which one ...

from above to 'catch' the apple. While bobbing for apples was most common, other parties would instead bob for nuts (most commonly hazel or chestnut) or specie.

Apple on a String

A common variant of bobbing of apples is the game snap apple or apple on a string, in which apples are hung from the ceiling and contestants jump to take bites - the winner is the contestant that manages to eat their entire apple first. To increase the difficulty, it's common to spin the apples beforehand or shake the cords, often catching contestants who are unaware or too slow in the face.

History

The tradition of bobbing for apples dates back to the

Roman invasion of Britain The Roman conquest of Britain refers to the conquest of the island of Britain by occupying Roman forces. It began in earnest in AD 43 under Emperor Claudius, and was largely completed in the southern half of Britain by 87 when the Stan ...

, when the conquering army merged their own celebrations with traditional Celtic festivals. During an annual celebration, young unmarried people try to bite into an apple floating in water or hanging from a string on a line;Halloween
Silver RavenWolf, p77, . Retrieved 21 October 2008. the first person to bite into the apple would be the next one to be allowed to marry. Apple bobbing was appropriated in the Irish festival Samhain, with apples a sign of fertility and abundance. Both apple bobbing and apple on a string are mentioned in 18th century Ireland by

Charles Vallancey General Charles Vallancey FRS (6 April 1731 – 8 August 1812) was a British military surveyor sent to Ireland. He remained there and became an authority on Irish antiquities. Some of his theories would be rejected today, but his drawings, fo ...

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."What is bobbing for apples?", History.com
/ref> In North East England, bobbing apple is called dookie (ducking) apple.

Health risks

The use of communal buckets, in which saliva and nasal mucus may come into contact with the water, is a risk factor for the spread of

pathogen In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a g ...

s. In light of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, safer alternatives have been proposed, such as using separate bowls for each participant.Hygienic Alternatives to Apple Bobbing
/ref>

References

{{Halloween, state=expanded Halloween practices Party games

Apple on a String

History

Health risks

See also

References