Snap-dragon was a parlour game popular from about the 16th to 19th centuries.
It was played during the winter, particularly on Christmas Eve. Brandy was heated and
placed in a wide shallow bowl; raisins were placed in the brandy which
was then set alight. Other treats, however, could also be used.
Of these, almonds were the most common alternative or addition,
but currants, candied fruit, figs, grapes, and plums also featured.

Typically, lights were extinguished or dimmed to increase the eerie effect
of the blue flames playing across the liquor. The aim of the game was
to pluck the raisins out of the burning brandy and eat them,
at the risk of being burnt. Samuel Johnson's
Dictionary of the English Language (1755) describes it as
"a play in which they catch raisins out of burning brandy and,
extinguishing them by closing the mouth, eat them". 
According to an eighteenth-century article in Richard Steele's Tatler magazine,
"the wantonness of the thing was to see each other look like a demon,
as we burnt ourselves, and snatched out the fruit."^[2] Snap-dragon was played in England,
Canada, and the United States. In some families, this tradition
continues to be practiced and enjoyed even into the 21st Century.

Most sources describe Snap-dragon as a Christmas tradition however Mary F Blain (1912),
Games for Hallow-E'en, suggests that in the United States it was played at Halloween instead.

The above information was retrieved from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.