Tag Archives: Stingy Jack

Halloween, Miscellaneous, Seasons

First Autumn Sunday

Autumn Landscape
Charles Rondeau (publicdomainpictures.net)

 

Welcome to the first Autumn Sunday.

Summer is gone, a fading memory except in places such as Death Valley where it is still very hot.

Hurricane season is revving up promising to deliver rain to the eastern seaboard of the United States. Autumn’s presence is starting to be felt in some places as leaves are starting to turn into bright colors. Seasonal produce is starting to appear-apples, artichokes, cranberries, pears, and pumpkins-along with decorations. Autumn festivals are starting to appear as well to celebrate the harvest. A major Autumn festival is Oktoberfest, an annual event that began in 1810 in Munich, Germany. Originally a royal marriage event, it has blossomed into a two-week festival the showcases agriculture, fun games and entertainment lots of food, and of course beer. Lots of beer. The Munich festival, which every major beer brewer participates, sees over 2 million gallons consumed. When Germans migrated to other countries, the festival came with them, and many cities now have the event.

Jack O’ Lanterns will start appearing as well, though many are premade until the approach of Halloween. The idea comes from Ireland and the Legend of Stingy Jack. Stingy Jack was not a nice guy as the name suggests. He bested the Devil  and made him agree not to bother him and when he died not to allow him into Hell. When he finally died, Heaven would not let him enter and the Devil, keeping his word, would not let him enter Hell. This meant Jack had to roam the world in darkness with only a lighted turnip. However, during Autumn when barriers between worlds thin, his ghostly figure might try to find a place to hang out. To prevent this, Irish (and Scots as well) carved turnips to create their own lanterns to keep Jack away. Jack of the Lantern became Jack O’ Lantern starting a unique event during the Autumn season. Carving faces in the turnips (or other vegetable that was handy) became a sign of the season.

When the Irish migrated to America, they brought this tradition with them. They discovered that a unique American squash called pumpkin was much easier to carve than a turnip. Pumpkins, normally used for decoration or their insides used for making pie, now had a new purpose. Pumpkin growers were delighted as people started copying what the Irish were doing making the Jack O’ Lantern a distinctive feature of the American Halloween season. Pumpkin carving became a fun way for families and friends to do. Schools started doing competitions and now pumpkin carving has become its own art form as well.

Photo:David Wagner(publicdomainpictures.net)

 

 

Miscellaneous

Welcome to October

Halloween Decoration in Fall
Vera Kratochvil
Publicdomainpictures.net

October is the 10th month on the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Under the old Roman calendar this was the eighth month and retained its name. October in the Northern Hemisphere begins the full transition to Autumn while in the Southern Hemisphere it is Spring.

Jack-o-lantern Pumpkins Glowing in the Dark
Petr Kratochvil, publicdomainpictures.net

Autumn harvests are underway this month with apples, artichokes, cranberries, pears, and pumpkins becoming widely available in many areas. Pumpkins are important this time of year as decorations and the source for pumpkin pie and delicious roasted pumpkin seeds. In Ireland they used to use turnips to keep old Stingy Jack from entering their homes this time of the year. Carving them into menacing faces and with a candle near them, it would send old Stingy Jack (and any other ghost) away! When the Irish came to America, they found the pumpkin. Unlike a turnip, which is not so easy to carve, the pumpkin was much easier to use. And you could put a candle inside it was well. Soon this tradition, and many others they brought with them, would end up becoming a major Halloween icon in the United States.

October also brings with it Oktoberfest, a major event in Munich, Germany that spread into Europe, the United States and South America. It began in 1810 to honor a Bavarian royal wedding and now is in many places like a carnival with rides, lots of German themed food and of course beer. Beer of all kinds, especially craft beers find their ways to such events to be judged. Octoberfest usually goes from mid-September to October (it used to end on the first Sunday in October) but it usually goes on later these days. One figure estimates the consumption of beer to be around 1.85 million gallons (7 million liters) of beer. Now that is a lot of beer!

The first full moon of October is often called Hunter’s Moon. For 2024, it will be a super moon. During October the Moon orbits closer to Earth than any other time of the year. In the years when it is a super moon, it will look bigger and brighter than usual. And near sunset, it can appear larger and more orange. It certainly is important for this time of year when, according to some beliefs, the walls separating dimensions seems to thin allowing for ghosts and other things to be seen. In Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, it is this time of year that a traveling carnival appears looking for souls to ensnare.

Haunted House
JL Field
publicdomainpictures.net

Of course, the big event in October is Halloween or more properly All Hallows Eve on October 31. What used to be a day to prepare for the feast of All Saints and All Souls Days now has morphed into an event primarily for children to put on masks and ask neighbors for a treat. Haunted House exhibits are open, hayrides through a haunted landscape, and of course scary movies to watch. We get the obligatory Halloween themed commercials and lots of scary themed promos. Many parents opt to have simpler old-fashioned celebration with friends and children assembling for food, entertainment, and of course hearing very spooky stories.