5 Scottish Halloween Traditions
Scotland has had some peculiar traditions for Halloween! Discover our spooky Scottish Halloween traditions…
Some of these traditions have been lost over the centuries, but some are still around today.
Many on this list were practised long before trick or treating.
Let’s see how many you recognise…
Neep carving 
Before the tradition of pumpkin carving stole across the Atlantic from America, the Scots carved turnips – or neeps – into lanterns and lit them to ward off potentially malevolent entities. A hardy few still carve neeps, and the end result is certainly creepier – although most admit that pumpkins are largely more convenient.
Apple Dookin’ 
Have you ever been dookin’ for apples? The traditional game involves filling a tub with apples and water, then trying to catch floating apples out with your teeth. The game’s origins are uncertain, but it’s thought to be a method of fortune-telling who your true love will be. This is one of the few Scottish Halloween traditions that is still going strong!
Guising 
It’s not trick-or-treating – it’s guising, short for disguising! Long before “trick or treat” Scottish children dressed up as evil spirits and went round the houses. They had to tell a joke or perform a short poem or song before receiving their treat – nuts, apples, sweets or occasionally coins.
Treacle Scones 
A game of apple dookin’ is usually preceded by the messier game of treacle scones, where sticky scones are hung from strings and players try to eat them without their hands – with as little mess as possible. Unfortunately, not many are successful, so dookin’ for apples has the added bonus of washing faces clean!
Kale-pulling
We’re not joking. Another traditional way of finding out who your true love would be was to go to the vegetable patch and pick the first kale stalk you saw. Its shape told the look of their your spouse, and the taste would tell personality. Unlike the other Scottish Halloween traditions listed here, kale-pulling isn’t practiced by many, if any, Scots today.
The poem Hallowe’en by Burns speaks of the consequences of pulling kale stalks…
“Some merry, friendly, country-folks
Together did convene,
To burn their nits, an’ pou their stocks,
An’ haud their Hallowe’en
Fu’ blythe that night”
