• Wednesday-What'sUP October 27 - 05:15 pm

It's not an easy task to grow the perfect pumpkin, but it looks like Brita Haapala may have done the deed or at least found someone else who did. She picked the great pumpkin and placed it amongst the fallen leaves to make things festive looking for the upcoming fall activities.

Cindy Freeman spotted some smiling pumpkins decorating the Eagle River Store, on a recent jaunt through our webmaster's home town. Those guys though, aren't the real thing, but a replica so that they keep smiling for as long as the owner keeps them there to greet folks passing by.

All this talk of decorating with pumpkins, has me wondering where this tradition began.... any ideas out there in Pasty Land?

Ask Mary, and ye shall receive...... Sorry for the long message.

History of the Jack-o-Lantern
People have been making jack-o-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into ••••. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o'lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o'lanterns.

Source: The History Channel

"The jack-o-lantern, originally carved from a turnip, originated in medieval Scotland.
A small candle would be put into the turnip, that had a scary face carved on it. This was to be lit at night and displayed to scare off evil spirits which they feared roamed about that night." (From an email I got re: Halloween traditions)

I'd put out some pumpkins too...but the deer would snack on them!!

I like Capt Paul's orange print..quite festive!

That pumpkin turned out really nice.

I thought the orange would be a nice touch for today's Cam Notes. J