I remember bobbing for apples as a child in England - but the prize was to have a wish come true (I can't recall this ever working). I also remember the rhyme, but with Christmas coming and the goose getting fat, as goose was the bird of choice for Christmas where our family came from (although we always had chicken, which was slightly more readily available - although nowhere near as available as today!). I love the way you have shown the evolution of 'trick or treat' from its early beginnings. It is not a custom remembered in any shape or form from my childhood - and I recall a student from one of my schools (here in Australia) back in the late 1990s who had come from the US being particularly disappointed that no-one went trick or treating and none of the houses she visited had anything for her, even those that had heard of people doing it in the US. It changed very quickly, though, and was more common not long after. I remember some kids pulling up plants in our front garden in Duffy even though we had given them sweet treats. We moved from Duffy early in 2001, to give some perspective on the speed of change - moving had nothing to do with the kids unfortunate trick, by the way. Last year, in October, I had a mix of mandarines and wrapped lollies to hand out and was thrilled that the fruit was more popular - and not just because I drew faces on the skins with a sharpie!
I remember bobbing for apples too and have been trying to think of a way to bring it back, maybe using some kind of skewer rather than dunking our heads in a trough full of water. I was so excited when I moved to Bungendore 12 years ago and found out that trick-or-treating was a big thing here. Not on my street but on the other side of town at Elmslea. I've taken my children every year and it's wonderful. The mandarins with faces are a fantastic idea. I might take that up and make the faces look like Jack-O-Lanterns and hand them out to kids as we're trick or treating, or use them as decoration for our Samhain table. Thanks for sharing your memories, it's one of my favourite things to learn about all the customs we participate in as children and slowly revive them in my own household if I can.
You are such a font of knowledge! Yes, I drew Jack-O-Lantern faces - the kids thought it was funny! They loved them.
We both bobbed in a tub of water and tried to catch a bite out of an apple hanging from a string. If each child had their own hanging apple it would be more sanitary... and maybe you could offer the 'prize' to the one who got the first successful bite from their apple?
I remember bobbing for apples as a child in England - but the prize was to have a wish come true (I can't recall this ever working). I also remember the rhyme, but with Christmas coming and the goose getting fat, as goose was the bird of choice for Christmas where our family came from (although we always had chicken, which was slightly more readily available - although nowhere near as available as today!). I love the way you have shown the evolution of 'trick or treat' from its early beginnings. It is not a custom remembered in any shape or form from my childhood - and I recall a student from one of my schools (here in Australia) back in the late 1990s who had come from the US being particularly disappointed that no-one went trick or treating and none of the houses she visited had anything for her, even those that had heard of people doing it in the US. It changed very quickly, though, and was more common not long after. I remember some kids pulling up plants in our front garden in Duffy even though we had given them sweet treats. We moved from Duffy early in 2001, to give some perspective on the speed of change - moving had nothing to do with the kids unfortunate trick, by the way. Last year, in October, I had a mix of mandarines and wrapped lollies to hand out and was thrilled that the fruit was more popular - and not just because I drew faces on the skins with a sharpie!
I remember bobbing for apples too and have been trying to think of a way to bring it back, maybe using some kind of skewer rather than dunking our heads in a trough full of water. I was so excited when I moved to Bungendore 12 years ago and found out that trick-or-treating was a big thing here. Not on my street but on the other side of town at Elmslea. I've taken my children every year and it's wonderful. The mandarins with faces are a fantastic idea. I might take that up and make the faces look like Jack-O-Lanterns and hand them out to kids as we're trick or treating, or use them as decoration for our Samhain table. Thanks for sharing your memories, it's one of my favourite things to learn about all the customs we participate in as children and slowly revive them in my own household if I can.
You are such a font of knowledge! Yes, I drew Jack-O-Lantern faces - the kids thought it was funny! They loved them.
We both bobbed in a tub of water and tried to catch a bite out of an apple hanging from a string. If each child had their own hanging apple it would be more sanitary... and maybe you could offer the 'prize' to the one who got the first successful bite from their apple?
Ohhhh I remember doing the apple on a string thing! Thanks for the memory!