Ghanima Atreides (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
atreideslioness) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2025-09-30 10:12 am
atreideslioness) wrote in fandomhigh2025-09-30 10:12 am
Reclaiming Your Childhood, Tuesday, Period 1 [9/30]
Today, class had been handwavily informed to meet in the school cafeteria, where they would find that Ghanima had sectioned off an area of tables, and piles and piles of pumpkins -- and other gourds -- which Ghanima had had delivered from Lyman Orchards just that morning. Carving supplies, candles, electronic tea lights, and paints were also piled upon the tables.
"We stand on the eve of October, when people start looking forward to Halloween," Ghanima said cheerfully, as Trebor ran around trying to sit on the largest pumpkins. "A jack-o'-lantern is a carved lantern, most commonly made from a pumpkin; or even a root vegetable such as a mangelwurzel, rutabaga or turnip.
"The term 'jack o’lantern' was a name for lantern-carrying night watchmen in England in the 1600s. By the 1800s, it had come to mean 'a carved pumpkin used as a lantern,' which may have evolved from ancient rituals using lanterns, folk tales involving spirits who carried lanterns, or young pranksters who carved scary faces into pumpkins."
"At the same time, jack-o'-lantern was applied to another kind of light: the flame-like phosphorescence caused by gases from decaying plants in marshy areas, also known as ignis fatuus — a Medieval Latin term that means literally "foolish fire" — or as you may have heard it called, 'will-o'-the-wisp,' which ties into the legend of 'Stingy Jack,' a tale that first appeared in print in the 19th century."
"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 hell. 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 jack-o'-lanterns we know today are carved from pumpkins are a yearly Halloween tradition that developed in the United States when Irish, Cornish, Scottish and other Celtic influenced immigrants brought their root vegetable carving traditions with them, creating the jack-o'-lanterns. They were often said to ward off evil spirits. Today, it is common to see jack-o'-lanterns used as external and interior decorations prior to and on Halloween."
"I think you can guess what we're doing today," Ghanima finished with a smile. "The traditional jack-o-lantern is a carved face, but in modern days some people carve animals, landscapes, whatever their imagination demands! Others paint their pumpkins instead of carving them."
"Sadly, carved pumpkins usually only last an average of about five days, although you can prolong it a bit by rinsing your finished creation in white vinegar and water, using coconut oil to seal it, and keeping it in the shade. While these will not last all the way until Halloween -- unless you use some form of magic -- I thought it would be a fun way to get into the fall spirit."
"We stand on the eve of October, when people start looking forward to Halloween," Ghanima said cheerfully, as Trebor ran around trying to sit on the largest pumpkins. "A jack-o'-lantern is a carved lantern, most commonly made from a pumpkin; or even a root vegetable such as a mangelwurzel, rutabaga or turnip.
"The term 'jack o’lantern' was a name for lantern-carrying night watchmen in England in the 1600s. By the 1800s, it had come to mean 'a carved pumpkin used as a lantern,' which may have evolved from ancient rituals using lanterns, folk tales involving spirits who carried lanterns, or young pranksters who carved scary faces into pumpkins."
"At the same time, jack-o'-lantern was applied to another kind of light: the flame-like phosphorescence caused by gases from decaying plants in marshy areas, also known as ignis fatuus — a Medieval Latin term that means literally "foolish fire" — or as you may have heard it called, 'will-o'-the-wisp,' which ties into the legend of 'Stingy Jack,' a tale that first appeared in print in the 19th century."
"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 hell. 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 jack-o'-lanterns we know today are carved from pumpkins are a yearly Halloween tradition that developed in the United States when Irish, Cornish, Scottish and other Celtic influenced immigrants brought their root vegetable carving traditions with them, creating the jack-o'-lanterns. They were often said to ward off evil spirits. Today, it is common to see jack-o'-lanterns used as external and interior decorations prior to and on Halloween."
"I think you can guess what we're doing today," Ghanima finished with a smile. "The traditional jack-o-lantern is a carved face, but in modern days some people carve animals, landscapes, whatever their imagination demands! Others paint their pumpkins instead of carving them."
"Sadly, carved pumpkins usually only last an average of about five days, although you can prolong it a bit by rinsing your finished creation in white vinegar and water, using coconut oil to seal it, and keeping it in the shade. While these will not last all the way until Halloween -- unless you use some form of magic -- I thought it would be a fun way to get into the fall spirit."
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