Halloween Stories: The Apples for Allantide in Cornwall

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The first day of winter is called Kalan Gwav in Cornish and their version of Halloween. The celebration is called Allantide and the main focus is the big Allan Apple and trying to predict the future.

Allantide, known as “Kalan Gwav” in Cornish, is the traditional Cornish celebration of Halloween, which marks the end of summer and the beginning of winter. Cornwall is one of the Celtic nations in South West England from the Atlantic Ocean to Devon and the English Channel.

Taking place on October 31, it shares similarities with Samhain and other Celtic festivals like the Welsh Calan Gaeaf or the Hop-tu-Naa on the Isle of Man of it being a beginning of winter festival. But one thing that differs is how much they focus on the dead, the spooky, the otherworld and ghosts. Allantide is much more harvest focused than what we think of Halloween today, although it has some of the same games and customs as its more spooky counterparts.

The Christian name, Allantide or Feast of St Allan comes from the bishop of Quimper in modern day France, in the sixth century, if he ever existed at all. He is venerated in Brittany and his name lives on in this holiday, although for obscure reasons. This has also made the celebration very christian as an important part of the festival is ringing the church bells.

**Apple Harvest for Allantide:** The apples are said to have been brought to the British Isles by the Romans, and soon, celts cultivated them on their own. Traditionally they have been seen as a sign of love and fertility as well as symbols for the gods and goddesses of the otherworld.

The Allan Apples From Harvest

A notable feature of Allantide is the gifting of large, bright apples called “Allan apples,” which symbolize good luck for the coming winter. In this sense, this version of “Halloween”, as it were, is a much brighter version with focus on apples, harvests and predicting the future. Other Halloween versions have often had a more supernatural and spooky atmosphere with ghosts, witches and monsters coming at night.

In the days leading up to Allantide, Allan Markets were held to buy the big apples. These apples were often used in games of divination, predicting future romances or fortunes. Women would place the apples under their pillows in hopes of dreaming of their future husband.

**Snap Apple**: A cross with four candles were put on and Allan apples would hang down was a game they played. The goal was to catch the apples in your mouth. The hot wax from the candles was penalty when it fell down on you.

Bonfires and Jack-o-lanterns

In the past, families would light bonfires, gather together, and use various forms of divination to foresee the winter ahead. The most popular future was of course to do with your love life. If you threw walnuts into the fire you could predict how faithful your partner was.

Stories told during these gatherings often involved ancestors and spirits, emphasizing the thinning of the veil between worlds. As with the other Celtic celebration, this was the time the dead and passed loved ones were closest to the living.

Melting of metal was also a way to predict the future. They melted it down to a liquid before throwing it in cold water and reading the shape of it, showing future partners or the future husband’s job.

There were also jack-o-lanterns made, but of the local turnip growing there. Although if it had the same spooky connotation

The End of Allantide Festivities

Today, Allantide has largely merged with modern Halloween celebrations, and the traditional Allan markets are gone. But traces of its ancient customs remain alive in Cornwall, where the gifting of the apples is still a central thing to the celebration and bonfires are lit to create community.