Tuesday, September 18, 2012

J is for Jack-O-Lantern

Last October I took several pictures of carved Jack-O-Lanterns at my granddaughters school program.

I did some research on Jack-O-Laterns and was surprised by all the tradition and folklore concerning these creative carvings.

How creative is this one!!


OK maybe this is a really bad pumpkin with lots of acne. Or perhaps a gourd.

These two got pretty hungry.



This one is a little fountain that serves fruit punch.
 
From Wickipedia

 
 
TRADITION
 
 
.[4] It was not until 1837 that jack-o'-lantern appeared as a term for a carved vegetable lantern,[5] and the carved pumpkin lantern association with Halloween is recorded in 1866.[6]
In the United States, the carved pumpkin was first associated with the harvest season in general, long before it became an emblem of Halloween.[7] In 1900, an article on Thanksgiving entertaining recommended a lit jack-o'-lantern as part of the festivities.[7] The poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who was born in Massachusetts in 1807, wrote "The Pumpkin" (1850):[8]
Oh!—fruit loved of boyhood!—the old days recalling,
When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!
When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,
Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!
 

FOLKLORE
 
A character named Stingy Jack was associated with the Jack-o-lantern in folklore.  He is quite the interesting guy, there is lots of reading on this guy if you are interested.  Hence Jack became connected to the pumpkin carved with candles.
 
I realize that Halloween is 6 weeks away, but I wanted to feature these cute Jack-O-Lanterns.
 
 
 
 
 


Linking withhttp://thetablescaper.blogspot.com
 
Ann

33 comments:

Barbara F. said...

Always time for pumpkins, that's my motto! Really cute jacks here. xo

Luna Miranda said...

these are cute and creative, too. the wrinkled Jack is my favorite.:p

Reader Wil said...

Hi Ann, thank you for your interesting and colourful post. Traditions and observing them make life worth living!
I w ish you a great week.
Wil, ABC Team.

Wanda said...

Love all the different pumpkins.

The poem is so perfect for the season.

Roger Owen Green said...

The 1st one is very intelligent; you can tell from the specs.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Patty said...

Those jack-o-lanterns are fantastic! I love the one with the acne! haha I would have never thought to do research on that, so thank you!

Meryl said...

LOL! Great post and I just love those creative jack-o-lanterns...can't believe Halloween is just around the corner.

Carver said...

Those are all so creative and fun. Interesting information too. Carver, ABC Wed. Team

Mildred said...

Great entry!
Some of these jack-o-lanterns are very funny!
Thanks for sharing:o)

***
Hope you are having a nice week****

Tito Eric said...

Time surely flies, Ann. It's Halloween and then Thanksgiving soon. Oh, dear.

Jenny's Heart said...

They are all cute :)
I love fountain! What a great idea.

photowannabe said...

Fun and fascinating. I guess it's time to get out the fall decorations.
The school pumpkins are very clever.

ChrisJ said...

Nice pumpkin carving here. I don't think we ever had pumpkins when I was growing up in England -- at least I don't remember them. But then a lot of things got lost in the war and the years afterwards.

ChrisJ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

Brought back memories of jack o lantern carving with my son when he was little. It is really interesting to see how this odd tradition came to be.

Martha said...

How interesting. I guess I thought that they were earlier for some reason. Loved the pictures.

The Van Noy was an event place and they had tea for 3 Wednesdays in August only. I'm not sure that they do teas on a regular basis.

Gerald (SK14) said...

suche fascinating designs

LindyLouMac said...

Calling by from ABC Wednesday, what Halloween fun albeit a little early. :)

Anonymous said...

The gourd with the bad acne gave me goose bumps☺ Cute post.
Laurie @ Pride in Photos

Lisa said...

Halloween is a fun and interesting blend of folklore and culture. It's really quite a multicultural holiday! Love your jack-o-lanterns and the poem.

Deb said...

Great choice for J, some lovely and imaginative carving and colouring.

Joy said...

Some great carving and inventive decoration. We used to use turnips as a child, thank goodness the pumpkin became available in the UK, a much easier task.

Lynette Killam said...

Very cool information, Ann...and quite apt, as Halloween candy is being put out on the store shelves already! I do like the wrinkly faced gourds...:)

Chubskulit Rose said...

My favorite is the one with eyeglasses.

Juice in Jars
Your comment always bring joy to me, so leave me one when you can.

Rose, ABC Wednesday Team

Martha said...

Carving jack-o-lanterns was always one of my favorite fall activities. :D

Anonymous said...

Great post Ann. Very interesting.

Mama Pajama said...

excellent - I love it!

Annesphamily said...

Such a sweet post! I like to learn about things so this was really neat! These pumpkins are so unique!

Annesphamily said...

Such a sweet post! I like to learn about things so this was really neat! These pumpkins are so unique!

Carol said...

So glad you visited my blog & left a comment! The pumpkins are awesome, what creativity!

Smiles,
Carol

Gina said...

What creative pumpkins! Cute post!

Janet, said...

Wow, those are so creative. I love them. Great research you did, too.

LBP said...

I love jack o lanterns! I had never heard of the Stingy Jack tale until last week and I've read it on two different blogs! I am getting my pumpkins this week but won't carve them until the week of Halloween!

Blessings

Linda

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