Christian Roots in Jack O'Lanterns? Jolene Navarro

Hello, Jolene Navarro checking in from the Texas Hill Country. This is my view as I sip my tea and write this post.

Texas Hill Country Sunrise from Jolene Navarro's front porch.

Last weekend we had our family Pumpkin Carving Slam. I love Fall, the colors, scents, and flavors. Did you know it has Halloween and Pumpkin carvings have Christian roots?

Family Fall Fun - Jolene Navarro

My sister and I started hosting a pumpkin carving fest with our kids about twenty years ago when they little. One year someone asked why we carved pumpkins? So I did some research. Where does the tradition come from? I’m glad you asked…

Carving Pumpkins - Jolene Navarro

The tradition of Jack-O-Lanterns came to the USA from the way of our Irish immigrants. Did you know that the original Jack-O-Lanterns were carved into beets, turnips & potatoes?

Like most traditions it starts with a myth, a story created to warn children to behave and not play with the devil or you’ll end up like poor “Stingy Jack”.

“Stingy Jack” was an Irish man that loved playing tricks on people and thought he could outsmart the devil. It all started when he invited Mr. Satan to have a drink. 

Jack tricked Satan to turn himself into a coin. Then he left the bar tab unpaid and put the coin in his pocket, next to a silver cross. This, of course, trapped the Devil from changing back.

Laughing at his own trick, he thought he was so smart. He finally made a deal with the Devil. He would free him if Satan vowed he would not claim Jack’s soul for a year.

A year later and bored, Jack tricked the Devil into climbing a tree for a piece of fruit on a top branch. The Devil’s pride once again had him falling for Jack’s ploy. While Satan reached for the fruit, Jack carved a cross into the trunk, trapping the Devil.

This time he made the Devil promise not to bother him for ten years. Before the decade was up though, Jake, drunk fell from his horse and died.

Now the story tells of Jake’s true fate. God, not pleased with how Jack had chosen to spend his life, would not allow him into heaven.

Of course, the Devil had vowed not to claim Jack’s soul, so he was left with nowhere to go. Sent out into the darkness with nothing but a lump of burning coal that he carried in a carved-out turnip. Jack wondered the earth looking for someone to play a trick on.

The Irish refer to him as “Jack of the Lantern” of course being Irish, it became Jack O’Lantern. Throughout Ireland and Scotland families started making their own versions of Jack-O-Lanterns by carving spooky designs into turnips and beets.

When the immigrants arrived at the shores of the new country they shared their stories and traditions. Soon they discovered that the native fruit, pumpkin, made a perfect canvas for the artistic carvings.

Jack-O-Lanterns - Jolene Navarro

Any good story told has a moral, a lesson to learn, so next time you see a Jack-O-Lantern remember that pride will get you in trouble and never try to outsmart the devil. It will always lead to misfortune.

Carving Pumpkins - Jolene Navarro

I love that my life is full of family traditions and get-togethers. So, goes my stories.  My latest release, A LONE STAR CHRISTMAS is full of Thanksgiving and Christmas with a big family in a small town.

https://www.amazon.com/Lone-Star-Christmas-Legacy-Inspired/

The hero Max, comes back to town with two young brothers he just received custody. He doesn't understand family and has no connections to family traditions.  Jackie Bergmann is surrounded by family and might be the one to convince Max to stay home for Christmas...maybe forever.

What are some of your favorite family memories or traditions? Or maybe one you wish you had…it’s not too late to start one.

Pumpkin Carving 101

Hello and happy autumn! Christine Johnson here today to chat about pumpkin carving. Huge disclaimer: Not only am I not an expert, I had never carved a pumpkin until preparing this blog post. My husband stared in astonishment when I told him this fact and promptly asked, "Where did you grow up? Russia?" Uh, no. I just remember my dad doing the carving. He probably realized that his accident-prone daughter shouldn't be wielding sharp knives.

So, now that I'm older and presumably less accident-prone (don't ask my hubbie on that one), I decided to head off on this new adventure. First, I selected a fine looking pumpkin that I could actually lift off the ground without hurting my back.

 

Next, I consulted the Internet for the how-to and found a site with free patterns, Pumpkin Carving Patterns, which seemed like a really good idea since that meant I wouldn't have to draw freehand. Since I'm a cat lover, I chose a kitty cat face. The pattern noted that a 10-year-old had successfully carved it. I figured if a 10-year-old could do it, maybe someone many years older could manage. Here's the pattern taped onto the pumpkin.

 

 

 

Note the sharp instruments I used to gut the pumpkin. With hubbie hovering near in case of disaster, I managed to get the top off and scrape out the seeds with a sharp-edged spoon. It's then that I discovered the pumpkin had really thick walls of 2 inches (or 5 centimeters). Yikes! That was a lot of pumpkin to cut through. Hubbie ooohed and aaahed over the thickness of the walls, saying we could make enough pie to feed 14 people. I'm not even sure if jack-o-lantern pumpkins can be used for pumpkin pie. Does anyone know?

 

 

Next I used a nail to punch through the paper to "transfer" the pattern to the pumpkin. Then I used a serrated steak knife and any other viable kitchen tool to cut out and remove the necessary pumpkin. After several hours of cutting and scraping, I managed to complete the project, just as darkness fell.

 

 

 

What a fun experience! My cat even enjoyed sniffing out this new creation in her world.

 

Now, how long will it last? What should I know about lighting it? I'd love to hear your pumpking carving stories and tips. What went well? What did you learn? What can you pass along to a newbie like me? What was your favorite design? And at what age did you let the kids pitch in? Let's chat.