Why is it a custom to bob for apples on Halloween?

Answer 1

Today, people bob for apples as an activity at parties, especially at Halloween, and there is no special meaning. In years gone by, it was believed that the first one to bite into an apple would be the first to marry.

Answer 2

Answer

It's just a tradition passed on from generation to generation, but it's not always done around Halloween, it's used all year round, mostly for parties though, The custom originated among the Celts as part of their celebrations of the Samhain season, celebrations that grew into modern-day Halloween. The original custom generally took place during large gatherings of people. Apples were associated with love or fertility goddesses; the first person to catch an apple would be the next one to marry, a tradition that is echoed in the modern "throwing of the bouquet" at weddings.

Other historians, including Peter Sanderson, believe that the history of apple-bobbing "originated from the ducking stool they used to put witches on." Apples, Oranges and other fruits were thrown into a lake to lure the witches, who suffered from an eternal craving for vitamin C, to their grisly fate.