A Spooky Holiday For All
2007 And The Diehards Are Still At It
This
year (October 23rd) was life day... Ten
years cancer free.
This year carving was with Jeanette, Connor, Sue and Paul and we
are going to use the homegrown punkin's from the back yard!
We did two pumpkins with Connor and Paul being the chief cut-ups. The girls sampled a glass of wine and teased about the work underway.
We saved the 80 pounder and will use it for decorating for Thanksgiving this year.
Jeanette Saves Halloween; Let The Cutting Begin...
Yes, sometimes I even read the instruction!
"High Big Boy"
Patterns Make It Easy
Just like crayolas.. "Stay inside the lines"
A jack-o'-lantern, sometimes also spelled Jack O'Lantern, is a carved vegetable, usually a pumpkin, but alternately a turnip, associated chiefly with the holiday Halloween.
Typically the top is cut off, and the inside flesh then scooped out; an image, usually a monstrous face, is carved onto the outside surface, and the lid replaced.
During the night, a candle is placed inside to illuminate the effect. The term is not particularly common outside North America.
Sections of the pumpkin are cut out to make a design, often depicting a
face. A variety of tools may be used to carve and hollow out the gourd,
ranging from simple knives and spoons to specialized instruments,
typically sold in holiday sections of grocery stores. Printed stencils
can be used as a guide for increasingly complex designs. It is possible
to create surprisingly
artistic
designs, be they simple or intricate in nature. After carving, a light
source (traditionally a candle, now often a battery-operated light) is
placed inside the pumpkin and the top is put back into place. The light
illuminates the design from the inside. Sometimes a chimney is carved in
the lid to allow heat to escape, preventing damage. A carved pumpkin can
last up to 2 or 3 weeks, possibly longer. Traditionally the carved
pumpkin would be a face, often with a simple crooked toothed grin. But
toward the end of the 20th century, artists began expressing every kind
of idea they could imagine on pumpkins. Today, it is common to see
portraits of political candidates, celebrities and cartoon characters
Off With The Lights
An old Irish folk tale tells of Jack, a lazy yet shrewd farmer who uses
a cross to trap the Devil. One story says that Jack tricked the Devil
into climbing an apple tree, and once he was up there Jack quickly
placed crosses around the trunk or carved a cross into the bark, so that
the Devil couldn't get down. Another myth says that Jack put a key in
the Devil's pocket while he was suspended upside-down;
Another myth says that Jack was getting chased by some villagers from
whom he had stolen, when he met the Devil, who claimed it was time for
him to die. However, the thief stalled his death by tempting the Devil
with a chance to bedevil the church-going villagers chasing him. Jack
told the Devil to turn into a coin with which he would pay for the
stolen goods (the Devil could take on any shape he wanted); later, when
the coin/Devil disappeared, the Christian villagers would fight over who
had stolen it. The Devil agreed to this plan. He turned himself into a
silver coin and jumped into Jack's wallet, only to find himself next to
a cross Jack had also picked up in the village.
Jack had closed the wallet tight, and the cross stripped the Devil of
his powers; and so he was trapped. In both myths, Jack only lets the
Devil go when he agrees never to take his soul. After a while the thief
died, as all living things do. Of course, his life had been too sinful
for Jack to go to heaven; however, the Devil had promised not to take
his soul, and so he was barred from Hell as well. Jack now had nowhere
to go. He asked how he would see where to go, as he had no light, and
the Devil mockingly tossed him an ember that would never burn out from
the flames of hell. Jack carved out one of his turnips (which was his favourite food), put
the ember inside it, and began endlessly wandering the Earth for a
resting place. He became known as "Jack of the Lantern", or
Jack-o'-Lantern.
Other Activities
OK, I do have a
weird sense of humor
We
spent the rest of the evening listening to
Old Time Radio and especially the "War Of The
Worlds" from the Halloween Eve broadcast of 1938 with Orson Wells.
Turning down the lights and going back in time is a fun escape from the
day to day hassle!
This year we only had 36 kids come to the door and most of them were the
little tykes from the neighborhood.