I first heard about snapdragon (also known as flapdragon) while reading the Annotated Alice where it is described as a Victorian Christmas game. The reference comes from Through the Looking Glass where Alice meets the fanciful Looking-Glass insects. One of them is the Snap-dragon-fly, with a body made of plum-pudding, its wings of holly-leaves and its head a raisin burning in brandy. It lives on frumenty (a traditional Christmas porridge) and mince pie, and nests in a Christmas box.

This is how we play snapdragon at my house:

1. Fill a shallow bowl with raisins, (or currants, if you want to make the game more difficult for your guests — I suggest raisins for your first attempt). Put in two or three raisins for each guest who you think will participate.
2. Warm some brandy in a pan on the stove, then pour it into the bowl, about a half inch deep.
3. Place the bowl in the middle of a table or on some other surface which can be protected from drips. We've always done this on a kitchen counter but the floor around gets pretty messy. I wouldn't want to try it over a wood floor or a pretty linen tablecloth.
4. Turn off as many lights as possible (for dramatic effect).
5. Light the brandy on fire. The brandy will flicker with an eerie blue flame.
6. Now try to snatch the raisins out of the burning brandy and pop them into your mouth. Presumably the person who eats the most, wins — we’ve never played this competitively but it would probably be a good way to choose the Twelfth Night King or Queen, since who ever is bold enough to succeed at this game is bound to have pretty interesting ideas for further merriment.

When you first see the flames you will be convinced this cannot be done. Once you've decided to plunge your fingers into the burning brandy, there's the shock of discovering the flames are hot (but not hot enough to burn). If you persevere and snatch out a raisin, your fingers will drip with blue flame as you fling the still-burning raisin into your mouth. It’s exciting and wild and daring and noisy — just the game to spice up a Twelfth Night party.

This article first appeared in The Beltane Papers, Issue 2, Samhain 1992. The Annotated Alice, written by Lewis Carroll, and updated with an introduction and notes by Martin Gardner, was published by Wings Books in 1960.

The Song of Snapdragon

Here he comes with flaming bowl

Don’t he mean to take his toll

Snip Snap Dragon

Take care you don’t take too much

Be not greedy in your clutch

Snip Snap Dragon