Editing Halloween (section)

==Games and other activities==
[[File:Halloween-card-mirror-2.jpg|upright|left|thumb|In this 1904 Halloween greeting card, [[divination]] is depicted: the young woman, looking into a mirror in a darkened room, hopes to catch a glimpse of her future husband.]]

There are several games traditionally associated with Halloween. Some of these games originated as [[divination]] rituals or ways of foretelling one's future, especially regarding death, marriage and children. During the [[Middle Ages]], these rituals were done by a "rare few" in rural communities as they were considered to be "deadly serious" practices.<ref name="DiehlDonnelly2011">{{cite book|last1=Diehl|first1=Daniel|last2=Donnelly|first2=Mark P.|title=Medieval Celebrations: Your Guide to Planning and Hosting Spectacular Feasts, Parties, Weddings, and Renaissance Fairs|date=13 April 2011|publisher=Stackpole Books|language=en|isbn=978-0-8117-4430-0|page=17|quote=All Hallows' Eve. A time of spiritual unrest, when the souls of the dead, along with ghosts and evil spirits, were believed to walk the land. Church bells were run and fires lit to guide these souls on their way and deflect them from haunting honest Christian folk. Barns and homes were blessed to protect people and livestock from the effects of witches, who were believed to accompany the malignant spirits as they traveld the earth. Although a rare few continued to divine the future, cast spells, and tell ghost stories in rural communities, woe to anyone who was denounced to the church for engaging in such activities. These may seem like innocent fun today, but it was deadly serious stuff during the Middle Ages.}}</ref> In recent centuries, these divination games have been "a common feature of the household festivities" in Ireland and Britain.<ref name="Hutton, p.380"/> They often involve apples and hazelnuts. In [[Celtic mythology]], [[Apple (symbolism)|apples]] were strongly associated with the [[Celtic Otherworld|Otherworld]] and [[immortality]], while [[Hazel#Mythology and folklore|hazelnuts]] were associated with divine wisdom.<ref>MacLeod, Sharon. ''Celtic Myth and Religion''. McFarland, 2011. pp. 61, 107</ref> Some also suggest that they derive from Roman practices in celebration of [[Pomona (mythology)|Pomona]].<ref name=Britannica />
[[File:Hallowe'en at Merryvale 3.jpg|thumb|upright|Children [[Apple bobbing|bobbing]] for apples at Hallowe'en]]

The following activities were a common feature of Halloween in Ireland and Britain during the 17th–20th centuries. Some have become more widespread and continue to be popular today.
One common game is [[apple bobbing]] or dunking (which may be called "dooking" in Scotland)<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/7648188.stm "Apple dookers make record attempt"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528225717/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/south_of_scotland/7648188.stm |date=28 May 2012 }}, BBC News, 2 October 2008</ref> in which apples float in a tub or a large basin of water and the participants must use only their teeth to remove an apple from the basin. Variants of dunking involve kneeling on a chair, holding a fork between the teeth and trying to drive the fork into an apple, or embedding a coin in the apple which participants had to remove with their teeth. Another common game involves hanging up treacle or syrup-coated [[scone]]s by strings; these must be eaten without using hands while they remain attached to the string, an activity that inevitably leads to a sticky face. A similar game involved hanging an apple from a string with a coin embedded; the coin had to be removed without using hands. Another once-popular game involves hanging a small wooden rod from the ceiling at head height, with a lit candle on one end and an apple hanging from the other. The rod is spun round, and everyone takes turns to try to catch the apple with their teeth.<ref>Danaher, Kevin. ''The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs''. Mercier Press, 1972. pp. 202–205</ref>

[[File:Book of Hallowe'en.jpg|thumb|left|Image from the ''Book of Hallowe'en'' (1919) showing several Halloween activities, such as nut roasting]]
Several of the traditional activities from Ireland and Britain involve foretelling one's future partner or spouse. An apple would be peeled in one long strip, then the peel tossed over the shoulder. The peel is believed to land in the shape of the first letter of the future spouse's name.<ref>Danaher (1972), p. 223</ref><ref name="McNeill">McNeill, F. Marian (1961, 1990) ''The Silver Bough'', Volume III. William MacLellan, Glasgow {{ISBN|0-948474-04-1}} pp. 11–46</ref> Two hazelnuts would be roasted near a fire; one named for the person roasting them and the other for the person they desire. If the nuts jump away from the heat, it is a bad sign, but if the nuts roast quietly it foretells a good match.<ref>Danaher (1972), p. 219</ref><ref>McNeill (1961), ''The Silver Bough'', Volume III, pp. 33–34</ref> A salty oatmeal [[Bannock (British food)|bannock]] would be baked; the person would eat it in three bites and then go to bed in silence without anything to drink. This is said to result in a dream in which their future spouse offers them a drink to quench their thirst.<ref>McNeill (1961), ''The Silver Bough'', Volume III, p. 34</ref> Unmarried women were told that if they sat in a darkened room and [[Scrying|gazed into a mirror]] on Halloween night, the face of their future husband would appear in the mirror.<ref name="hollister">{{cite book
 |last         = Hollister
 |first        = Helen
 |date         = 1917
 |title        = Parlor Games for the Wise and Otherwise
 |chapter      = Halloween Frolics
 |chapter-url  = http://www.weirdhalloween.com/weird_halloween_games.html
 |location     = Philadelphia
 |publisher    = Penn Publishing Company
 |page         = 98
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20151208055759/http://www.weirdhalloween.com/weird_halloween_games.html
 |archive-date = 8 December 2015
 |df           = dmy-all
}}</ref> The custom was widespread enough to be commemorated on greeting cards<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vintageholidaycrafts.com/vintage-halloween-women/ |title=Vintage Halloween Cards |publisher=Vintage Holiday Crafts |access-date=28 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929051847/http://vintageholidaycrafts.com/vintage-halloween-women/ |archive-date=29 September 2009 |date=21 January 2008 }}</ref> from the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Another popular Irish game was known as ''púicíní'' ("[[blindfold]]s"); a person would be blindfolded and then would choose between several [[saucer]]s. The item in the saucer would provide a hint as to their future: a [[Ring (jewellery)|ring]] would mean that they would marry soon; [[clay]], that they would die soon, perhaps within the year; water, that they would [[Irish diaspora|emigrate]]; [[rosary beads]], that they would take [[Holy Orders]] (become a nun, priest, monk, etc.); a [[coin]], that they would become rich; a [[bean]], that they would be poor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/halloween/encyclopedia.php|title=Preschool Halloween Fast Facts|website=Everything Preschool |access-date=31 October 2020|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108192016/http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/halloween/encyclopedia.php|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irishcentral.com/culture/craic/Traditional-Irish-Halloween-games-try-to-marry-off-young-girls.html|title=Traditional Irish Halloween games try to marry off young girls|date=15 October 2018|website=IrishCentral.com|access-date=31 October 2020|archive-date=27 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427004117/http://www.irishcentral.com/culture/craic/Traditional-Irish-Halloween-games-try-to-marry-off-young-girls.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://irisharchaeology.ie/2015/10/halloween-in-irish-folklore/|title=Halloween in Irish Folklore &#124; Irish Archaeology|date=30 October 2015|website=irisharchaeology.ie|access-date=31 October 2020|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108091930/http://irisharchaeology.ie/2015/10/halloween-in-irish-folklore/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/arid-20134899.html|title=Tricks and treats|date=30 October 2010|website=Irish Examiner|access-date=31 October 2020|archive-date=18 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418044338/https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/arid-20134899.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The game features prominently in the [[James Joyce]] short story "[[Clay (short story)|Clay]]" (1914).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/d/dubliners/summary-and-analysis/clay|title=Clay|website=www.cliffsnotes.com|access-date=31 October 2020|archive-date=1 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101175354/https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/d/dubliners/summary-and-analysis/clay|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/365156|title=Teaching Joyce|first=Ed|last=Madden|date=31 October 2008|journal=James Joyce Quarterly|volume=46|issue=1|pages=133|via=Project MUSE|doi=10.1353/jjq.0.0133|s2cid=201751292|access-date=31 October 2020|archive-date=3 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603102733/http://muse.jhu.edu/article/365156|url-status=live| issn = 0021-4183}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qp7c4RGqtVgC&q=clay+game+joyce&pg=PA40|title=Joyce Effects: On Language, Theory, and History|first1=Derek|last1=Attridge|first2=Professor of English Derek|last2=Attridge|date=16 March 2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-77788-9|via=Google Books}}</ref>

[[File:Commercial Barmbrack.jpg|thumb|[[Barmbrack]] (showing ring found inside) at Halloween in 2020]]
In Ireland and Scotland, items would be hidden in food&nbsp;– usually a cake, [[barmbrack]], [[cranachan]], [[Champ (food)|champ]] or [[colcannon]]&nbsp;– and portions of it served out at random. A person's future would be foretold by the item they happened to find; for example, a ring meant marriage and a coin meant wealth.<ref>McNeill (1961), ''The Silver Bough Volume III'', p. 34</ref>

Up until the 19th century, the Halloween bonfires were also used for divination in parts of Scotland, Wales and Brittany. When the fire died down, a ring of stones would be laid in the ashes, one for each person. In the morning, if any stone was mislaid it was said that the person it represented would not live out the year.<ref name=hutton365-369/> In Mexico, children create altars to invite the spirits of deceased children to return (''angelitos'').<ref>{{cite book |last1=Day |first1=Frances A. |title=Latina and Latino Voices in Literature: Lives and Works, Updated and Expanded |date=30 May 2003 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-313-05851-6 |page=72 |language=en|quote=On October 31, All Hallows Eve, the children make a children's altar, to invite ''angelitos'' (spirits of dead children) to come back for a visit. November 1 is All Saints Day, and the adult spirits will come to visit. November 2 is All Souls Day, when the families go to the cemetery to decorate the graves and tombs of their relatives.}}</ref>

Telling [[ghost story|ghost stories]], listening to Halloween-themed songs and watching horror films are common fixtures of Halloween parties. Episodes of television series and [[List of Halloween television specials|Halloween-themed specials]] (with the specials usually aimed at children) are commonly aired on or before Halloween, while new horror films are often released before Halloween to take advantage of the holiday.