HISTORY OF JACK O'LANTERN
Pumpkin carving is a popular part of modern America's Halloween celebration. Come October, pumpkins can be found everywhere in the country from doorsteps to dinner tables. Despite the widespread carving that goes on in this country every autumn, few Americans really know why or when the jack o'lantern tradition began. Or, for that matter, whether the pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable. Read on to find out!
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 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 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.
Best Pumpkin Cake
This pumpkin cake is good anytime, though especially round autumn
Ingredients
250ml vegetable oil
3 eggs
400g pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
425g caster sugar
300g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons chopped nuts (optional)
Preparation method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Grease one 25cm tube cake tin.
2. Cream oil, beaten eggs, pumpkin and vanilla together.
3. Sift the flour, sugar, bicarb, ground nutmeg, ground allspice, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and salt together. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix until just combined. If desired, stir in some chopped nuts. Pour cake mixture into the prepared tin.
4. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cake cool in tin for 5 minutes then turn out onto a plate and sprinkle with icing sugar.
Pumpkin Cakes too good to eat ? ?
And finally, let me take you to Cynghordy
Cynghordy is a small, rural village in Carmarthenshire, nestling in the Towy valley on the edge of the Crychan Forest and the Brecon Beacons National Park.
The first Cynghordy Show Children’s Giant Pumpkin Competition was held on Saturday 28th October in Capel Cynfab School, Cynghordy. There were six entries across the three age categories and pumpkins ranged in weight from 7lb to a whopping 55lb!
Cups and certificates were awarded to the top three pumpkin growers in each age group, along with books to encourage the children to take an interest in gardening and growing their own vegetables. The event was a great success and everyone was looking forward to growing even bigger pumpkins next year!
This year’s winners were:
7 Years and under - 1st Matthew Brown Waunarlwydd 51.6lb - 2nd c/o Glan yr Afon 28.6lb
8 to 11 Years - 1st Meredydd Evans Glandwr 33.6lb - 2nd Morgan Evans Glandwr 12.4lb - 3rd Kieran Morton Bredbury 7.0lb
12 to 16 Years - 1st Daniel Brown Hendy 55.0lb
Pumpkin Preparation Board for my Autumn diorama
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE !!!Karim
