The Halloween Legend of the Jack-o’-Lantern.
The Jack-o’-Lantern we carve at Halloween comes from an Irish legend about a man named Jack. According to one version, Jack lured the devil up a tree to pick him an apple. He then carved the sign of the cross into the tree trunk to keep the devil from coming out of the tree. Jack then made the devil promise that he would never take Jack’s soul.
When Jack died, he wasn’t allowed into heaven because of his evil ways. It is said that he did too much drinking. Looking for a place to go, Jack went to hell. When he got to hell, the devil refused to let Jack in, making good on his promise to him. Jack was surprised at the devil, assuming that he would never make good on a promise.
Jack then decided to move on. As he was walking away, the devil threw a hot coal at him. Jack was eating a turnip at the time and the turnip caught on fire. Ever since, Jack has wandered around the earth carrying his turnip jack-o’-lantern, looking for a place to sleep.
This legend certainly leads one to question why we carve pumpkins at Halloween instead of turnips.
Treva Bedinghaus is a freelance writer and webmaster of www.partiescometrue.com.
Pumpkin Carving Humor.
So, they have talked you into it. Carve a pumpkin, they say. It will be fun, they say. Well, sometimes. Some times not. Why, you ask. I will tell you.
First, there is the picking out of the perfect pumpkin to carve. This is usually a group effort. Even looking at the strange shaped pumpkins is a mistake. The big, perfectly round pumpkins make the best carved pumpkins. The strangely shaped ones make you laugh. Pick a pumpkin that looks like Charlie Browns’ head. That is, if the group effort of picking out a pumpkin has not turned into a group fight over it, where everyone gets mad and goes home pumpkin less because no one could agree on one.
Now, if you are lucky, you have your perfect pumpkin.
Then comes the mess. You have never seen such a mess. Except for the time when the dog, never mind. Clean up is not fun. Speaking of the dog, newspapers come in handy when carving a pumpkin.
While carving the pumpkin, remember these things.
Do not do it while drinking alcohol. Pumpkins, knives and alcohol do not mix, unless you are making a powerful pie. Even then, be extremely careful. The hospital workers will not be sympathetic to your story.
Pumpkin carving can take some time. Be patient. If the kids and dogs get on your nerves while doing it, just take a break. Take an aspirin, also. It may help.
Always draw the design face on the pumpkin before carving. If you do not do this you may not recognize it as a pumpkin when you finish.
Then you have to start all over. That can be expensive. It can also make you curse.
Even if it is Halloween and curses are in, you should not say those things in front of the children or the dog.
When you have finished, place the pumpkin in an area where it will not get kicked over, stomped on or fallen into. That can hurt and with lawsuits running rampant these days, you never know. Finally, if someone that you know should request that you carve them a pumpkin to wear on their head, please do a background check on them immediately, unless they own a horse and plan on doing a live rendition of sleepy hollow.
Brrr.
Happy Halloween!
Bridgitte is retired and enjoys sharing her holiday fun articles. Her webpage can be found at http://All4Webs.com/i/3/bridgitte/home.htm
Tags: article, halloween
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