Here's What People Ate On Halloween Long Before Candy Reigned Supreme

History

Traditions

Here's What People Ate On Halloween Long Before Candy Reigned Supreme By Laura Christine Allan Oct. 15, 2025 6:20 pm EST

Whenever Halloween rolls around, there's so much candy on store shelves that it's impossible to miss. Candy is certainly a quintessential part of the holiday now, but that wasn't always the case. While Halloween folklore does have a history of witches cooking and eating children , the actual original preferred treat was far less gruesome. Instead of candy, fruit and nuts — particularly apples and chestnuts — were a customary part of Halloween for hundreds of years.

The original popularity of apples and nuts came from spiritual beliefs by Celtic peoples 2,000 years ago during their festival called Samhain. Giving food to guests or the ne