Date: Fri 30-Oct-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: DONNAM

Quick Words:

GardenKids-Sullivan-lantern

Full Text:

GARDENKIDS: The Legend Of Jack's Lantern

By Pat Sullivan

Legend has it, a long, long time ago in Ireland, there was a blacksmith named

Jack. He was very selfish and unbelievably mean to everyone in town. When he

died, he tried to get into Heaven, but was turned away because he had been so

bad.

Needing a place to go he decided to knock on the door to Hell. Even the Devil

didn't like Jack because of his wicked ways. The devil boasted "We have no

room for you here," slammed the door in Jack's face, and sent him back to

Earth.

Jack cried that he couldn't find his way in the dark. So as a tiny gesture of

kindness, the Devil threw him a hot coal from the furnace. Jack found a turnip

in a nearby garden, hollowed it out, carved a few holes in the side and

dropped the glowing coal inside for light. Ever since that day, Jack has

wandered the earth with his turnip lantern...

Turnips with lighted candles inside them have become known as

"jack-o-lanterns." People in Ireland and Scotland carved scary faces on their

jack-o-lanterns which they placed outside their homes on Halloween. They

thought that the ugly, glowing faces scared away evil Halloween spirits.

After the Irish and Scots came to America in the 1800s, Indians introduced

them to pumpkins, which were larger than turnips and therefore easier to

carve. Plus their orange color was appealing as it was a Halloween color. From

then on pumpkins were used as jack-o-lanterns and Halloween became popular in

the United States.

Pumpkins dot the countryside landscape. They're piled high at all the garden

centers, farm stands and even grocery stores. We bring them home along with

other colorful squashes and Indian corn to brighten up the interiors and

entrances to our homes.

The fun really starts, though, when we get our kids involved in buying and

decorating the pumpkins.

Before you get started with the carving knife, challenge them with a little

problem solving. Ask them to guess how many seeds are in their pumpkin. When

you cut the top out, let them look inside and guess again. Then count. They'll

love the squishy, gooey feeling of the pulp and seeds.

Now ask them to guess how much the pumpkin weighs. If you have another

pumpkin, or a similar bulky object in the house, ask them which weighs more.

How much more?

Now for the decorating. Carving. Most folks think of the typical

jack-o-lantern face -- triangular eyes and nose and a toothy smile. There are

lots of other faces and designs you can try, for example a cat, spider,

skeleton, skull or even a headless horseman! Try cutting out the words "trick

or treat" or "boo!"

If you don't want to bother with a knife or think it's too dangerous for your

young ones, pull out the paints. Acrylics work just fine. I found some at the

drug store that are non-toxic. The paint is forgiving in that if your kids

don't like their design, just wipe it off with a damp paper towel.

Add a little sparkle with glitter. Kids love it. Loose glitter easily adheres

to craft glue or rubber cement. A hint: Decorate with the glitter inside of a

big aluminum pan and it won't end up all over your table and floor.

There is also glitter in a tube which makes nice thin lines. Put out a few

colored piper cleaners and you'll be amazed at the shapes they end up in.

Bring Mother Nature into the picture by gluing dried flowers, leaves, seed

pods and miniature pinecones around the top of your pumpkin. These look best

on the mini pumpkins. Mini pumpkins also work well as candle holders. Just cut

out a small hole in the top, stick in a candle and you're ready for a harvest

dinner by candlelight.

If you don't feel like carving or painting, turn your pumpkin into a

container. Scoop out the inside of your pumpkin, add a little potting soil,

and plop in an autumn plant -- after you've removed it from its original

container.

You can also make a memorial to Jack: Carve out a turnip, cut a design in the

side and drop in a stubby candle. I made mine into a hanging lantern by

attaching a 12 inch piece of string to three holes that I poked into the top

part of the turnip.

(Pat Sullivan is a children's gardening consultant, master gardener and

teacher at the New York Botanical Garden's Children Garden. She can be reached

online at psullitex.com. This is her first appearance in The Newtown Bee. )