Which Lesser Known Halloween Tradition Do You Personify?
It's time to carve some turnips and get out your scrying bowl! See which obscure Halloween tradition totally matches your vibe!
Everyone knows the usual Halloween traditions! carving pumpkins, bobbing for apples, trick or treating, putting together a totally terrifying costume... but these are just the tip of the iceberg! There are so many more weird and wonderful traditions - and this quiz will let you know which one is totally you! Don't forget to check out our other Halloweeen quizzes! Find out which Halloween film you should watch, or have a go at our Halloween picture quiz!
Choose an animal!
Choose a common Halloween activity!
Which spooky smell is your favourite?
Pick a classic Halloween costume!
What's your favourite kind of Halloween candy?
Choose a creepy film!
Which Harry Potter food do you most want to try?
Pick an iconic Halloween image!
Which creature is the creepiest?
Choose somewhere seriously scary to spend the night!
Turnip carving!
You know all about pumpkin carving - but did you know that people used to carve turnips and swedes into jack-o'-lanterns? It's true! In Britain and Ireland the tradition evolved from the Celtic celebration of Samhain. People carved scary faces into root vegetables to ward off evil spirits, who were said to roam the earth on All Hallow's Eve. The tradition travelled to America via Irish and Scottish migrants, where pumpkins were much easier to grow. You could try to recreate the old tradition yourself - but be warned, turnips are a lot harder to carve than pumpkins!
Soul cakes!
Trick or treating (or guising if you're from Scotland!) is a beloved Halloween tradition - but did you know it has its roots in medieval times? People used to go between parishes asking for food. This was called "souling", and in later years the food given was called a soul cake. These cakes were small, round and full of sweet fruit and spices. Nowadays you're more likely to get sweets when you go trick or treating, but getting a tasty cake also sounds nice!
Fortune telling!
You might think Valentine's Day is the most romantic day of the year - but that's where you'd be wrong! Halloween is traditionally a time to practice divination (when you try to see the future using old rituals). One of the most popular things people try to divine is who they will end up marrying one day. One way to do this is by peeling apples and throwing the skins over your shoulder. The way the peel landed was supposed to show you the initials of your future spouse! Another is roasting two hazelnuts on a fire, and naming the nuts after yourself and your crush. If the nuts jump away from each other in the heat - uh oh, you might not be a good match! A third (and appropriately creepy) tradition is to sit in a dark room in front of a mirror. At midnight, the face of your future spouse will appear behind you!
Old Hob!
This is one for the REAL Halloween fans! In Victorian Cheshire, some people went out souling (the old-fashioned version of trick-or-treating). They'd bring Old Hob, which was a horse's head on a pole covered in a sheet, sometimes with a candle inside. Still with us? Okay! It's not entirely clear why they did this, though it's probably related to the Pagan custom of "hoodening", a Kentish custom that involves dressing up as a horse for souling. There are a lot of versions of this all over the UK, like the Welsh Mari Lwyd (though that's more of a Christmas spirit). At any rate, if you did this, you'd have THE most original Halloween costume around!
