Sunday, November 02, 2008

Happy Halloween


Who doesn't like carving pumpkins? This year Olivia also wanted to save some of the seeds for eating. I remember doing this when I was a young boy but everyone knows that now I have a violent allergy to those pesky pepitas. Olivia wanted a Jack o'Lantern with "sharp teeth". I'm not really sure what Jake carved.
Do you know the story of the Jack o'Lantern? It comes from Irish folklore. Jack was a farmer who tricked the Devil into climbing a tall tree. When the devil reached the highest branch, Jack carved a large cross in the trunk making it impossible for the Devil to climb down. In exchange for help getting out of the tree, the Devil promised never to tempt Jack with evil again. When Jack died, he was turned away from Heaven for his sins and turned away from Hell because of his trickery. Condemned to wander the Earth without rest, Jack carved out one of his turnips, took and ember from the devil and used it for a lantern to light his way. He became known as "Jack of the Lantern." Or you can read more here.

1 comment:

suzi said...

You've answered all the questions that Georgia wanted to know the other night as we carved "Jack", thanks!!!