Spoooooooky !!!

Yes I now understand why Halloween has become more and more popular in Britain over the last couple of decades.


As I grew up, this time of year became a very exciting time to make the ugliest Guy Fawkes and parade him up and down yelling 'penny for the guy'  and looking forward to bonfires, fireworks, burnt toffee, warm sausage rolls and piping hot jacket potatoes.

So Halloween was rarely mentioned, let alone celebrated to the degree it is today.

I originally thought it was just another 'fad' imported from America and never really questioned or delved into the origins. So this week I enjoyed reading that Halloween traces its roots back to Samhain (pronounced sow-in and meaning 'summer's end'), an ancient Celtic festival day that was celebrated throughout Britain on October 31st .
Samhain was a festival that marked the end of the summer harvest and the beginning of the winter season. Unlike our modern calendar, the Celts followed a lunar based calendar and their days ran from sunset to sunset. The Celtic New Year occurred the day after Samhain and was celebrated from sundown on November 1st to sundown on November 2nd.

Carving pumpkins into the gruesome or silly faces of a jack-o-lantern was adapted from the old British practice of carving out turnips to make lanterns. There is also a bit of folklore surrounding the term "Jack-O-Lantern." It originates from an old Irish lore about a man named " Stingy Jack." The tale involves Jack making deal after deal with the devil, tricking him with the temptation of the man's soul, only to wind up being tricked himself by the prankster.After Jack died, he wasn't allowed into heaven so the devil got revenge by not allowing Jack into hell. He's roamed for all eternity, with only a burning coal inside a turnip to light his way.




Benno says 'Is this for me?'

So the turnip has been adapted to the pumkin and the hullaballoo of ghosts, curious skeletal masks and  costumes, trick or treat and painted faces is not only big business once a year but for many it is also a time where adults and children can have a lot of fun.

Spooky !

JACK O'LANTERN

by Paul Curtis

Jack O’Lantern’s light

Gazing out into the night

In the window there

Staring out a scary stare

With your unsympathetic grin

And glowing orange skin

Are you there to keep the spirits out?

With your jagged leering mouth

Or is your gnarled and toothless grin

There to invite the evil in?

Pumpkin Recipes