How many can you solve? A three-choice trivia quiz about Halloween

black creature

The black color of Halloween is considered to symbolize death and darkness. This stems from associations with black creatures like bats and black cats, which have long been seen as omens or symbols of mystery. Because Halloween is a festival closely tied to the boundary between life and death and to witches and spirits, black is also an important element of the event.

potato

Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish, especially popular around Halloween. Its main ingredient is potatoes, combined with cabbage or kale and butter. Beloved as a home-style dish that warms you in the cold season, it’s also associated with a unique Halloween custom as a “luck-bringing” food, where items like rings or coins are hidden inside.

flour

In the UK, there’s a traditional Halloween game called “Flour Mountain.” You make a mountain out of flour, and everyone takes turns removing a little bit at a time; the person who collapses the mountain loses. Sometimes a sweet or a coin is placed on top, and the person who knocks it down gets to keep it. The thrill of that last moment is part of the game’s charm.

soul cake

Soul cakes are a traditional British confection, indispensable for Halloween and All Saints’ Day. Dating back to the Middle Ages, there was a custom called ‘souling,’ in which children and the poor went from house to house to receive soul cakes and prayed for the souls of the deceased. Because this practice is linked to the origins of Halloween, soul cakes remain cherished as a traditional treat.

cabbage

One of Scotland’s traditional Halloween customs is the “cabbage divination.” On Halloween, people go into a field blindfolded and pull up a cabbage at random. They then predict their future spouse or fortune based on the cabbage’s size and shape, the length of its roots, and the kind of soil clinging to it. It’s a unique custom that also reflects how familiar and commonplace cabbages once were.