Next: 31 Oct 2026
Halloween
Sweets for children at the door, and in Ireland a fruit loaf with a ring hidden inside.

What is eaten for Halloween
Halloween comes from the Irish and Scottish eve of All Saints. In North America children go from door to door in costume and are given sweets, and it is the biggest day of the year for candy. Apples are part of the night, bobbed for in water or coated in caramel or toffee. In Ireland the food is older. Barmbrack, a fruit loaf, is baked with a ring inside, and whoever finds it will marry. Colcannon, mashed potato with kale, is served with coins hidden in it.
The dishes
BarmbrackIrish fruit loaf with a ring baked inside.More dishes made for Halloween
Written by the Thali desk with AI assistance. Background: "Halloween" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Candy: Elisa Azzali, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pie: Peggy Greb, Public domain, source
- Caramel apple: Photo by and (c)2006 Derek Ramsey ( Ram-Man ), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Candy corn: Evan-Amos, Public domain, source
- Colcannon: Alison Cassidy, Public domain, source
- Boxty: さえぼー, CC0, source
- Barmbrack: Solo Beckett, CC BY-SA 4.0, source