Daylight saving time comes begins this weekend near the end of fall, at a time when the hours of available sunlight already are beginning to decline.
Some people are more accustomed to darkness than others. Norwegians, Swedes and people living in Alaska and the upper reaches of Canada near or above the Arctic Circle may go through a period when winters can be especially dark. Fairbanks, Alaska, gets just three hours and 42 minutes of sunlight on the winter solstice. Those in Barrow, Alaska, will endure a period of 67 days of darkness, according to Alaska.org. Residents of Seattle, which is even further north than cities such as Fargo, North Dakota, or Portland, Maine, deal with more darkness than those living outside the city may know.

Bobbing for apples is a game that has been around for centuries. An autumn tradition often associated with Halloween and other fall festivals, the concept of bobbing for apples is, according to History.com, rooted more in romance than Halloween trickery. As a British courting ritual, young ladies and their potential suitors would vie for certain apples to land a potential mate. Eventually, the tradition faded into obscurity. But apple bobbing was reinvented in the Americas when  immigrants introduced the game to children and adults during Halloween parties.

Recently, apple bobbing has fallen out of favor again, with parents lamenting the unsanitary conditions and potential spread of germs, not to mention the hazard of drowning. Thankfully, there are various alternatives to apple bobbing that can still make for an exciting Halloween game.