While the shiny red candy apple has been an emblem of Halloween since the early 20th century, the apple itself has a long and rich connection to the season that dates back centuries. Before making hard candy apples, you may be interested to know how the classic seasonal treat came to be.

Apples are a symbol of fertility and life, and Samhain, the Gaelic festival which celebrates the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, highlights the specific connection between apples and Halloween time. Merrymakers hoped these fruits held a promise that though the harvest was over, life would return.

The candy apples we know today came about in 1908 when William Kolb was testing a bright red cinnamon candy coating for the Christmas season and decided to dip some apples in the liquid candy for a window display. Candy apples used to be given out to trick-or-treaters, but this stopped in the ‘80s after concerns of poisoning.