As our days grow darker and colder, I’m drawn again to my Celtic past and the rituals of these days.

Have you ever bobbed for apples at a Halloween party?

This game is actually ancient, and hails from the Celtic Christians who married the practices of the past with the realities of the present.

The apple was known as the fruit of temptation in Christian circles, but was also a harvest fruit. In the ancient Celtic world, you’d bob for apples to determine who would be married next. The person with the fruit would be visited in their dreams by their true love.

When Christianity came to the Celts, the game took on a more festive Biblical character, as it was associated with the idea of temptation in the days of shadows. Lust, after all, was bad…right?

Every practice has a practical history.