Halloween 2019 – Pumpkin Carving!

_Elsa_

Traditions have always played a big part in what defines any holiday. Christmas brings unique traditions like putting up a tree and singing carols for strangers. Thanksgiving typically involves football and more food than should be consumed in one sitting. Independence Day is all about fireworks and backyard cookouts. But Halloween may be richer in tradition than any other holiday. Children dress up in costumes and go house to house, asking for candy handouts with the familiar cry of "trick or treat." There's another Halloween tradition from Ireland that you can spot on porches all over the United States on Oct. 31 -- the jack-o'-lantern.

 

Like most folklore, the history of the jack-o'-lantern varies a little bit depending on who's telling the story. But all stories involve a clever drunkard that pulls one over on the devil. Legend has it, in 18th-century Ireland, a foul-mouthed drunk and disreputable miser named Stingy Jack asked the devil to go have a drink with him. The devil obliged and when the bill came, there was that awkward moment that we're all so familiar with. Jack expected the devil to take care of things, and the devil thought Jack should pony up. Seeing as how Jack had no money anyway, he convinced the devil to turn himself into a six pence coin to pay the bill. The devil fell for it and Jack skipped on the bill and kept the devil at bay by sliding the coin into his pocket to lay at rest beside a silver cross.

 

The devil was stuck in Jack's pocket, trapped by the cross, but Jack decided to be a good egg and let him out, providing that the devil wouldn't come after Jack for a period of one to 10 years, depending on who you ask. The devil had no choice but to agree and once the coin was removed, he turned himself back into the devil and went on his not-so-merry way. At the end of the agreed upon timeframe, the devil found Jack for a little payback. Somehow, Jack convinced him to climb a tree in search of an apple for Jack before they set off for hell. The horned one once again obliged, only to see Jack carve a cross into the tree trunk, and leaving the beast stranded again.

 

Jack must have felt bad, because he agreed to let the devil down if he promised to never claim his soul for Hell. The devil was caught between a rock and hard place once again, so he agreed. When Jack died, St. Peter rejected him at the pearly gates because of his suspect credentials. The devil wouldn't and couldn't let Jack in to hell, per their agreement at the tree. In the end, Jack was given a lump of burning coal by the devil to light his way through purgatory. Jack carried the coal inside a hollowed out turnip.

Irish families told the tale and began to put carved out turnips in their windows to prevent Stingy Jack and other ghouls from entering the home. Some had scary faces carved into them to frighten away any comers. Once the tradition hit the United States, Irish immigrants soon realized that the pumpkin, native to the states, was an ideal fruit for carving. That's why you see jack-o'-lanterns on porches around Halloween.  The information came from here. 

If you ever watched the Food Network at this time of year, you can find several Halloween TV shows.  My favorite is Halloween Wars, a competition for individuals who really enjoy carving pumpkins.  Five teams of cake decorators, candy makers and amazing pumpkin carvers will try to prove they are the best and deserve to win a cash prize! It amazes me how detailed these carved pumpkins can be.  Let's share pictures and stories of pumpkin carving.

Click on the picture below - How to Carve a Realistic Face on a Pumpkin

Click on the picture below - 19 Cute Pumpkin Carving Designs

Stella would like you to share jack-o-lantern pictures here.

To view the entire group of Halloween 2019 messages, please click on the image below.

_Elsa_

Tagging:

@QueenRaffie, @flamingoqueen, @Puppe, @tmerm, @IsolaLady, @bytch, @witchpb17, @christine3, @MJazzyL, @gress2007, @Isaali58, @Altyrone7088, @blkbenfranklin13, @TKN48, @dava69, @goodlife1, @WitchChristie, @jelaine2017, @Bunnieofthemoon, @BrandiJohnston, @grandmaAnk, @Janger, @LadyAlex, @janet29, @caroledreth, @frankie04, @umairtony1, @NJgirl, @jacksen, @leesmith317, @luanach, @Adeboye, @bearzpunkin, @luanacb, @stellanoita, @aleeinsky07, @Toni4Ever, @gar16002, @dazzu, @LisaMarie, @mohammadmuneer, @highdro, @kiara_wael, @candycrushinit, @katarany, @RheBee96, @Aliceanne_74, @sharpshooter8888, @heatherleann30, @thinuslove, @Pocahontas1, @kaiser1618, @DeepshikhaSharan, @jacksonjulie7, @mesib, @SeraphicStar, @BQN537, @beastman, @amayagarcia74, @ariver105, @ChristiesHeaven03, @Katrinac1981, @Myladytwist, @moonie, @Gaosy, @PummyRaj, @stellanoita, @mohammadmuneer, @VivianeVanErom, @mysticalmysty, @firebombmarkus, @TessTess, @Foley1362

_Elsa_

This is a cool video - The Art of Pumpkin Carving with Ray Villafane. You might also want to visit his website here.

candycrushinit

Happy Spooktober @Elsa! 🎃
My little brother and I have carved our pumpkins as scary as we can. 

Here is my pumpkin
The inside of it makes it look scary lol 😅

And here is my brother’s. Unfortunately, it rotted and he can’t put a candle inside it
But the good, er I mean scary thing is, it’s more scary than ever, am I right? 😅


What about you? What does your pumpkin look like?

_Elsa_

That is totally cool @candycrushinit!  My children are grown, married and have their own children.  I don't have anyone to do pumpkins with but when the grandchildren were younger I would go with them to the farm to get their pumpkins and then watch them decorate their own.  I enjoy watching Halloween Wars and how fantastic they are at creating those carvings!

candycrushinit

We would carve and design our pumpkins every year. My father carves our pumpkins for us, and we paint our pumpkins however we wanted. We go to the pumpkin patch every year to pick our best pumpkins depending on its size, weight, and freshness. We bought one small pumpkin for my brother, and one medium pumpkin for myself. Then we drew the design with a permanent marker and then carved them. My father cleaned out the inside of my brother's pumpkin so he can light it up. Then for a few days, it started to rot. He cannot light it up. So he left it on the front door next to mine. They both look so scary. 


I like watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) when I was a kid. I even rode the Great Pumpkin Coaster at Kings Island with my family. I had my picture taken during the ride, and I bought it. My brother rode it too last year. It was a fun ride. 


Do you like trick-or-treating? Do you like Halloween parties? What is your favorite costume to wear for Halloween?

_Elsa_

At my age it's enough to remember that it's a holiday, forget dressing up.  I am going trick or treating with my youngest granddaughter this year.  She is 11 so it might be her last year.  First I will go to her school for their parade outside the building with all their costumes and then I'll wait for her to get home from school and we'll go out for a bit.  Her 2 older brothers are teenagers now so they won't be doing it.

Did you see the other sections attached to Halloween 2019?  We have a memory page so you can repeat your memory there.  There is also a movies and song page that you might want to look at.  Click on the animated image at the bottom of my post and click on the picture.  That will take you to the main page and from there you can see what pages I posted and you can add comments on them.  I started adding food recipes and then got carried away doing this.  Now maybe I'll go back to see what other areas I can add comments to.

MiaChristine

My boys are all grown so I’m not carving pumpkins 🎃 anytime soon.. but I’m in hopes when my nankids are little older I’ll be carving again soon! 

_Elsa_

Nice animated pic!  It is a lot more fun to go trick or treating with the grandchildren.  It's just strange that you adult children now have their own children to trick or treat.  The years go so fast.

BQN537

Halloween isn’t really celebrated in Australia 🇦🇺 although in the past 20 or so years more and more kids go trick or treating done up in all there costumes and some schools 🏫 have parades. I really love 💗 all the masterpieces that people make with the pumpkins. My parents said it was an Irish ☘️ thing and I just accepted that. I will have lollies (candy)for kids that come around of course so happy Halloween to all 🎃😱

_Elsa_

@BQN537 you are heading into summer now right?  So your Halloween is warm.  Now I am curious to find out the difference in costumes that the kids where I all these different areas.