Carve Yourself a Masterpiece!

One of my very favorite things to do for Halloween is carve pumpkins! I don’t think I’ll ever get too old for that. The tradition can actually be traced back to Great Britain. They were placed on doorsteps during All Hallow’s Eve festivities. The creepy faces were carved to ward of evil spirits who may be lurking on this darkest of nights. The practice of hollowing out the pumpkins was created in order to leave treats inside for those same spirits, having people hoping that would be enough for the ghosts and ghouls to leave them alone for the night. And, surprisingly, pumpkins were not the carver’s choice in the early days. People actually used turnips as they were more readily available “across the pond.”

The name “Jack-o-Lantern” has several stories tied to it. They all involve a man named Jack who tricked the devil and was then punished by being turned into an ember and tossed inside a turnip, which was Jack’s favorite food, forever forced to roam the land without a resting place for his soul. In its earliest uses, the term jack-o-lantern meant watchman or, quite literally, man with a lantern.

Today, pumpkin art extends far beyond an ominous face. My problem is I rarely step out of the box. I usually go to Walmart, pick up a carving kit, and follow the pattern to the letter. There are some true artists out there who do some really amazing stuff with pumpkin carving, though.  This year, I’ve seen two really unique ones that my friends have done!

Yes, I am a Star Wars nerd, so of course I LOVE this Death Star pumpkin! How creative! I may have to attempt this next year!

It’s Jack! The Pumpkin King! Ha! Another favorite movie of mine is The Nightmare Before Christmas, so it only seems fitting to pay homage to Jack Skellington in pumpkin form! I love it!

For now, the extent of my creative carving abilities goes as far as to admire the pictures of the ones my friends have created! This year I’ll continue to stick with creepy faces and silhouettes of witches, but next year I could just be the next Pumpkin Picasso! Look out world!

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