Ever wonder why we're so willing to shove our faces into a barrel of water for an apple?
(Well, maybe not this year...)
The History of Bobbing for Apples
This tradition appears to have originated from Samhain, the Celtic harvest celebration. The apple (as I am well aware ;) ) is a symbol of fertility, then represented by the Roman goddess Pomona. When sliced in half, the apple's seeds form a sort of five-pointed star, like the pentagram. The pentagram, to the Celts, was also a great fertility symbol. From there, the apple just seemed like a natural fit!
The apple then became an object of divination used to predict marrages during that time of year. Those who were unmarried at the time of the celebration would take turns trying to bite into an apple, either in a pool of water or hanging from a string. The first one to do so would be the next expected to wed.
And to think that today it's thought of as a child's game...
One article on the topic says that the [girl] to possess the bitten apple would dream of her future lover when placed under her pillow at night. I find that to (1) be uncomfortable and (2) be sticky.
The apple was also used to foresee other things. By peeling an apple infront of a candle-lit mirror, one could see not only the image of one's future hubby but also the years left of one's life according to the peel length before it broke. I think knowing such things only takes the fun and mystery out of life!
Links/Sources:
No comments:
Post a Comment