Pumpkin Carving

I gathered some info on Pumpkin Carving for everyone. Below are a little history on Pumpkin carving and links to several web sites that have some great tips and "How to carve that Jack O Lantern". Happy Halloween Everyone!

A jack-o'-lantern, made from a pumpkin, lit from within by a candle.

The term jack-o'-lantern is in origin a term for the visual phenomenon ignis fatuus (lit., "foolish fire") known as a will-o'-the-wisp in English folklore. Used especially in East Anglia, its earliest known use dates to the 1660s. The term "will-o'-the-wisp" uses "wisp" (a bundle of sticks or paper sometimes used as a torch) and the proper name "Will": thus, "Will-of-the-torch." The term jack-o'-lantern is of the same construction: "Jack of [the] lantern.






The origin of Jack o' Lantern carving is uncertain. The carving of vegetables has been a common practice in many parts of the world, with Gourds being the earliest plant species domesticated by humans c. 10,000 years ago, primarily for their carving potential. Gourds were used to carve lanterns by the Maori over 700 years ago, with the Māori word for Gourd 'ue also used to describe a lampshade. But the innovation of carving a Jack-O-Lantern specifically to celebrate Halloween was first recorded in the U.S., with the earliest known reference occurring in 1866.[citation needed] There is a common belief that its carving came to the U.S. from Ireland, where turnips, mangelwurzel or beets were supposedly used. According to historian Ronald Hutton, in the 19th century, Halloween guisers in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands commonly used jack-o'-lanterns made from turnips and mangelwurzels. They were "often carved with grotesque faces to represent spirits or goblins". In these areas, 31 October–1 November was known as Samhain and it was seen as a time when spirits or fairies were particularly active. Hutton says that they were also used at Halloween in Somerset (see Punkie Night) during the 19th century.[7] Christopher Hill also writes that "jack-o'-lanterns were carved out of turnips or squashes and were literally used as lanterns to guide guisers on All Hallows' Eve." Some claim that the Jack-o'-lanterns originated with All Saints' Day (1 November)/All Souls' Day (2 November) and represented Christian souls in purgatory. Bettina Arnold writes that they were sometimes set on windowsills to keep the harmful spirits out of one's home. Despite these claims there has yet to be evidence provided by historians that turnips were carved into lanterns in Ireland during Halloween, prior to the practice being present in the U.S.[citation needed] An 1834 account of a Halloween night at a house in Ireland makes no mention of any jack-o'-lantern or carved vegetables acting as lanterns, nor does Robert Burns mention them in his famous poem "Halloween". Thomas Johnson Westropp does not mention them in Folklore of Clare (1910) and the "internationally accepted authority on Irish folk tradition" Seán Ó Súilleabháin does not mention them in Irish Folk Custom and Belief (1967).
There is however evidence that turnips were used to carve what was called a "Hoberdy's Lantern" in Worcestershire, England at the end of the 18th century. The folklorist Jabez Allies recalls how
“ In my juvenile days I remember to have seen peasant boys make, what they called a " Hoberdy's Lantern," by hollowing out a turnip, and cutting eyes, nose, and mouth therein, in the true moon-like style ; and having lighted it up by inserting the stump of a candle, they used to place it upon a hedge to frighten unwary travellers in the night. ”






The story of the Jack-O'-lantern comes in many variants and is similar to the story of Will-o'-the-wisp retold in different forms across Western Europe, with variations being present in the folklore of Norway, Sweden, England, Ireland, Wales, Germany, Italy and Spain. An old Irish folk tale from the mid-19th Century tells of Stingy Jack, a lazy yet shrewd farmer who uses a cross to trap the Devil. One story says that Jack tricked the Devil into climbing an apple tree, and once he was up there Jack quickly placed crosses around the trunk or carved a cross into the bark, so that the Devil couldn't get down. Another tale says that Jack put a key in the Devil's pocket while he was suspended upside-down.
Another version of the story says that Jack was getting chased by some villagers from whom he had stolen, when he met the Devil, who claimed it was time for him to die. However, the thief stalled his death by tempting the Devil with a chance to bedevil the church-going villagers chasing him. Jack told the Devil to turn into a coin with which he would pay for the stolen goods (the Devil could take on any shape he wanted); later, when the coin/Devil disappeared, the Christian villagers would fight over who had stolen it. The Devil agreed to this plan. He turned himself into a silver coin and jumped into Jack's wallet, only to find himself next to a cross Jack had also picked up in the village. Jack had closed the wallet tight, and the cross stripped the Devil of his powers; and so he was trapped.
In both folktales, Jack only lets the Devil go when he agrees never to take his soul. After a while the thief died, as all living things do. Of course, his life had been too sinful for Jack to go to heaven; however, the Devil had promised not to take his soul, and so he was barred from hell as well. Jack now had nowhere to go. He asked how he would see where to go, as he had no light, and the Devil mockingly tossed him an ember from the flames of hell, that would never burn out. Jack carved out one of his turnips (which were his favorite food), put the ember inside it, and began endlessly wandering the Earth for a resting place. He became known as "Jack of the Lantern", or Jack-o'-lantern.
Jack-o-lanterns were also a way of protecting your home against the Undead. Superstitious people used them specifically to ward away vampires. They thought this because it was said that the Jack-o-lantern's light was a way of identifying vampires and, once their identity was known, they would give up their hunt for you.






Sections of the pumpkin are cut out to make holes, often depicting a face, which may be either cheerful, scary, or comical. More complex carvings are becoming more commonly seen. Popular figures, symbols, and logos are some that can now be seen used on pumpkins. A variety of tools can be used to carve and hollow out the gourd, ranging from simple knives and spoons to specialized instruments, typically sold in holiday sections of North American grocery stores. Printed stencils can be used as a guide for increasingly complex designs. After carving, a light source (traditionally a candle) is placed inside the pumpkin and the top is put back into place. The light is normally inserted to illuminate the design from the inside and add an extra measure of spookiness. Sometimes a chimney is carved, too. It is possible to create surprisingly artistic designs, be they simple or intricate in nature.







http://www.extremepumpkins.com/

http://www.marthastewart.com/275573/pumpkin-carving-and-decorating-ideas/@center/276965/halloween

http://www.bhg.com/halloween/pumpkin-carving/

http://www.abcya.com/pumpkin_carving.htm