Hilarious Halloween Activities from The Past

Halloween, a festival celebrated on the last day of October was once looked upon as an evil day, a day when the spirits of the deceased visited the mortal world. However, with the passage of time, Halloween, having lost its evil complexion, has acquired new connotation and today the festival is celebrated with lot of fun and enthusiasm. Children and adults garbed in ghoulish costumes participate in various Halloween activities, which follow the traditional Halloween feast.

Earlier people used to light bonfires in the evening to ward off evil spirits and dance around them till the flames subsided and it was around these smoldering embers that the Halloween activities began. Halloween games have their roots in Halloween myths.

Earlier it was strongly believed that the outcome of the Halloween games was prophetic in nature. Many of the games have survived the onslaught of time and are played even today with suitable improvisations. In modern day Halloween parties many of these traditional games are still played, but they have lost their prophetic nature and are played just for fun. Improvisations have made them extremely enjoyable and challenging. Some of the popular games which still evoke peals of laughter are highlighted.

• In “Bobbing for Apples”, which is one of the oldest and the most traditional of Halloween games, the participants delved into a barrel or basin of water to retrieve apples with their mouth. The first person to retrieve the Halloween marked apple was declared the winner. Today this hilarious game is still a part of Halloween parties.
• Most of the Halloween games played on this autumn night were associated with love and courtship. In “Pulling the kale”, a couple, blindfolded, proceeded to the field to pluck the first cabbage it laid its hands on. The shape and size of the cabbage hinted at the nature and appearance of their prospective spouses. To foresee results of wooing, two hazelnuts, named after the boy and girl, were thrown into the fire and the nature of burn observed.
• The first and the last spoonfuls of colcannon, Halloween dish, was put into a girl’s stockings and hung from the door with the belief that the first man entering through it would marry her. Often a ring denoting marriage and a thimble announcing spinsterhood was hidden in the colcannon.
• Halloween word scrabble is a very popular game today. The players are asked to form as many words as possible from any Halloween related word like tick o treat, Dracula, skeleton, cauldron etc. One forming the largest number of words is declared the winner.
• In “Pass the orange” a person has to hold an orange firmly below his chin and pass it on to his neighbor. It is a very popular fun game and can be played in a mixed age group party too.
• In an improvised version of bobbing the apple, apples are hung from strings and participants are asked to take a bite off them with their hands tied behind. It is very funny seeing people jumping up and down trying to grab a bite of the elusive apple.
• In a manner similar to “Tail the donkey” children are asked to stick warts at the tip of the nose of a Styrofoam witch. This game is always a great hit among kids of small age.

Such Halloween activities today bring back nostalgic memories of the past and are at the same time a source of fun and enjoyment at much awaited Halloween parties. Include few of these and be assured of a roaring, noisy party!

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