31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN – Day 20

In 1919 Ruth Edna Kelley published The Book of Halloween.  Here she describes a game of “snap-apple”: A variation of the Irish snap-apple is a hoop hung by strings from the ceiling, round which at intervals are placed bread, apples, cakes, peppers, candies, and candles. The strings are twisted, then let go, and as the…

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN – Day 19

This appears to be the earliest recorded instance of trick-or-treating (as we know it) in North America: “The old time custom of keeping up Hallowe’en was not forgotten last night by the youngsters of the city,” reported the Kingston, Ontario Daily News  in 1866.  “They had their maskings and their marry-makings, and perambulated the streets after…