Happy Halloween!, or should I say, Happy Samhain! because the now globally celebrated Halloween festival originated here in Ireland.
Once a festival to mark the end of the harvest season Samhain was our Gaelic ancestors way of welcoming in the darker part of the year. People dressed up and built great bonfires, often the fire from the bonfires were used to relight the ever burning 'kitchen' fires in peoples homes and it was seen as a way to ward off the darker spirits to dress up and dance around them.
Pumpkin carving also originated here. Originally a turnip would have been carved, the reason was to ward of the spirit of 'Stingy Jack'.
Jack was said to be a greedy little man who sold his soul to the devil for gold but then tricked the devil so that he got to keep his soul. The Devil cursed Jack to wander earths realm not allowing him to enter either heaven or hell and so it was said that Jack carved out a turnip and lay a coal ember inside to light his way. So now we carve 'Jack 'o' Lanterns' to keep Stingy Jack from entering our homes.
It was only as recent as the 19th or 20th century that we transitioned from turnips to pumpkins here in Ireland, quite simply because we did not widely grow them here.
If you have grown your own pumpkins you will have sown them inside in March and moved them outside in May, nurtured them through the summer and probably harvested them last week. Not to worry if you haven't though as they are widely available to buy in all shapes, colours and sizes in the shops at the moment :)
Some people would say that the turnip makes a superior Jack 'o' Lantern as it doesn't rot as quickly as a pumpkin when carved.
Carved pumpkins will only last 3-5 days before starting to rot and looking like it's melting. Turnips on the other hand will last longer and as they tend to dry out instead of rot taking on a wizened more horrifying look!
Carving pumpkins or turnips is a great activity to do with children but of course can be quite dangerous given the need for a sharp knife.
In America one year there were 4700 Halloween related injuries and 41% or that number were due to pumpkin carving!
We can avoid both the rotting and the injuries though by decorating our pumpkins instead. By decorating them we can also then make use of the nutritious fruit after the season is over. A hot pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, stuffed pumpkin, pumpkin and coconut stew are just a few of the many many recipes to try.
To decorate your pumpkins firstly clean it with a damp cloth and dry it thoroughly with a towel.
All sorts of decorations can be used, googly eyes, fake spiders, fake cobwebs, buttons, wool, coloured paper, glitter, to name but a few. These can be attached using any craft glue (avoid using superglue as accidents can happen!). When displaying your pumpkins make sure not to place them near any open flames as a lot of craft materials can be flammable.
You can also paint your pumpkins, acrylic paint works best for this as it gives a thick, vibrant colour. Try and make sure the paint you are using is water based as not only is it better for the environment but it makes the clean up a lot easier too!
So Happy Samhain and Happy Pumpkin decorating!
Sophie x
