Isn't it remarkable how many notable discoveries originate in accidents and luck? Look at penicillin, Velcro, microwave ovens, Silly Putty. Seriously, how did someone discover you could eat an artichoke? It's delicious, but man! what a battle it is to break into one. Why even bother? And by the way, Linda -- thanks for teaching me how.
In any case, even though it's nearly 80 degrees today, Halloween is just around the corner. The stores are full of candy and decorations and costumes; I've heard that Halloween is our country's second biggest shopping holiday after Christmas.
As I've mentioned previously, my home decor is dedicated to my kids' artwork and mementos. My most unusual mementos/artworks, are each child's first Jack O'Lantern, which I freeze dried. It might sound peculiar but actually it was ridiculously simple although, admittedly, inadvertent. After my son's first Halloween I couldn't stand throwing away that cute little pumpkin with his lopsided smile, so I popped it in the freezer and forgot about it. Nine months later I found it to be almost entirely freeze dried; I did the same thing for my daughter's first pumpkin, and they both occupy a place of honor in the dining room.
Want to know how it really works? Take a look:
- Place carved miniature pumpkin in a frost free freezer. Leave it there, undisturbed for 6 to 9 MONTHS, until it's firm and dry when you remove it from the freezer.
- Preheat an oven to 200 degrees, place the pumpkin inside, turn the oven off and leave the pumpkin in the oven overnight. The residual heat will dry out any last bits of moisture.
- Remove the pumpkin from the oven and sprinkle in a bit of cinnamon or four whole cloves.
My son's pumpkin is 11 years old and counting, and still in the same condition as when I made it.
Most of us have heard of the pagan origins of the Halloween:
Celtic Origins
Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in [parts of] the United Kingdom and France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of ... winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth ...
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires ... During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins ...
The Romans Take Over
By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.
The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees...
And The Christians Take Over From The Romans
In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.
But were you aware of the following modern day Halloween statistics?
Statistics for Halloween 2006 (unless otherwise noted), courtesy of Community Dispatch.com:
- 36.1 million: The estimated number of potential trick-or-treaters (children 5 to 13) across the United States.
- 1 billion pounds: Total production of major pumpkin-producing states. Illinois led the country by producing 492 million pounds, followed by California, Ohio and Pennsylvania, each of which produced at least 100 million pounds.
- $101 million: The value of all pumpkins produced by major pumpkin-producing states.
- 1,198: Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments that produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2005, employing 38,718 people and shipping $13.6 billion worth of goods. California led the nation in the number of chocolate and cocoa manufacturing establishments, with 128, followed by Pennsylvania, with 121.
- 477: Number of U.S. establishments that manufactured nonchocolate confectionary products in 2005. These establishments employed 21,389 people and shipped $7.6 billion worth of goods that year. California also led the nation in this category, with 73 establishments.
- 26: pounds per capita consumption of candy by Americans.
- 2,232: Number of costume rental and formal wear establishments across the nation in 2005.
What do we do with all those pumpkins?
Why, carve them into Jack O'Lanterns, of course. Ever wondered how that tradition got started? According to Pumpkin Nook, the Irish brought the tradition of carving vegetables to America:
"As the story goes, Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who liked to play tricks on everyone: family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself. One day, he tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree. Once the Devil climbed up the apple tree, Stingy Jack hurriedly placed crosses around the trunk of the tree. The Devil was then unable to get down the tree. Stingy Jack made the Devil promise him not to take his soul when he died. Once the devil promised not to take his soul, Stingy Jack removed the crosses and let the Devil down.
Many years later, when Jack finally died, he went to the pearly gates of Heaven and was told by Saint Peter that he was too mean and too cruel and had led a miserable and worthless life on earth. He was not allowed to enter heaven. He then went down to Hell and the Devil. The Devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter Hell. Now Jack was scared and had nowhere to go but to wander about forever in the darkness between heaven and hell. He asked the Devil how he could leave as there was no light. The Devil tossed him an ember from the flames of Hell to help him light his way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed out Turnip, one of his favorite foods which he always carried around with him whenever he could steal one. For that day onward, Stingy Jack roamed the earth without a resting place, lighting his way as he went with his "Jack O'Lantern"."
Want to learn how to make extraordinary Jack O'Lanterns?
Take a look at these actual unretouched pumpkins from The Pumpkin Wizard:
Would freeze drying work for any of these elaborate artworks?
I have no idea. You'd need an awful lot of freezer space. If anyone tries it, let me know.
Interesting post on Halloween..!
Posted by: Makaila | September 24, 2008 at 11:37 PM