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Lions Pride Endowment Fund of Wisconsin

Tag Archives: immigrants

National Pumpkin Day and the Story of the Jack O’ Lantern

24 Thursday Oct 2019

Posted by lionspridewi in News, Special Events

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apple, coal, coin, creativity, decor, fun, Heaven, holiday, immigrants, ireland, jack o' lantern, lions pride, month, national pumpkin day, october, pattern, Saint Peter, scent, scotland, spirit, spirits, stingy jack, tradition, tree

smiling jack o lantern

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

If we were to ask you what object best symbolizes the month of October, how would you respond? If you’re like many of us, you would probably say the pumpkin. During this month, the famous orange gourd has shown up on doorsteps, featured in coffee drinks and has become the scent of choice for houses across the country.

To celebrate America’s favorite squash, National Pumpkin Day was born. The unofficial holiday is commemorated on Saturday, October 26. To honor the celebration, we thought we’d have some fun with the story of the Jack O’ Lantern.

Legend says, the Jack O’ Lantern came from an old man named “Stingy Jack” who liked to play tricks on people. One day, Stingy Jack invited the devil to have a drink with him. Old Jack decided that he didn’t want to pay for the drinks, so he convinced the devil to turn himself into a coin. Instead of paying for the drinks, Jack decided to keep the coin and placed it in his pocket next to a silver coin; therefore, trapping the devil. He eventually agreed to release the devil but made him promise not to bother him for another year. If he died, the devil could not claim his soul.

One year passed, and again Jack tricked the devil into climbing an apple tree. Once he was up the tree, he made the sign of the cross in the bark, again trapping the devil. He let him down but made him promise not to bother him for another decade.

Soon after, Stingy Jack died and made his way up to Heaven. Saint Peter told him that he was not allowed in, so he tried to get into hell. The devil also denied his entrance because of his promise not to claim his soul. He sent Jack off into the night with only a piece of coal lighting the way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been forced to roam the earth ever since.

In an attempt to ward off Stingy Jack and other wandering spirits, people In Ireland and Scotland began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips and potatoes. As immigrants came to America, they brought their tradition with them but found pumpkins to be perfect for Jack O’ Lanterns.

If you still haven’t carved your annual pumpkin, there’s no better day to get creative than this Saturday. We invite you to show off your Lions Pride spirit with this fun pattern from Pumpkin Stencils:

Lion Pumpkin Pattern

Be sure to keep away Stingy Jack by carving your Halloween Jack O’ Lantern. Happy decorating!

The Most Popular Halloween Costumes Of All Time

29 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by lionspridewi in Holidays, Special Events

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animal, business, charles darwin, costume, dress up, evolution, fantasy job, halloween, holiday, homemade, immigrants, industrial revolution, irish, iron age, lions pride, movie character, mythical creature, nature, party, saturday, scottish, spooky, superhero, trick or treat, victorian era, weekend, young

A spooky time of the year is upon us. This week, you may have seen a full moon in the hazy night sky, and on Saturday, you will see a variety of characters on your front stoop asking the ever popular question, “Trick or treat?” Halloween is officially here.

The holiday is said to date all of the way back to the Iron Age, around 800 to 600 B.C. October 31 marked the last day of the Celtic calendar. Halloween was the last day of celebration before winter, which marked the death of life, nature and the harvest.

In the 18th and 19th Centuries, Scottish and Irish immigrants through their Halloween folklore traditions with them to America, but the holiday that we know and love didn’t take off until the Victorian era. At that time, Charles Darwin had just introduced the theory of evolution, and the Industrial Revolution had people longing for simpler times and had inspired them to become more connected with nature. Many costumes were centered on this theme and were, of course, homemade.

Today, Halloween costumes are big business. You’ll see just about everyone dressing up including children, adults and pets. Last year, more than two-thirds of holiday participants purchased a Halloween costume. The average person spent $77.52 on their costume.

Although children have the possibility to choose just about any kind of costume they could imagine, the most popular costume categories have remained fairly consistent over the last couple of decades.

  1. A mythical creature such as a witch, ghoul or goblin.Childrens Lion Costume
  2. A superhero.
  3. A fantasy job such as a doctor, police officer or firefighter.
  4. A movie character (this year’s most popular costumes have focused on the upcoming Star Wars movie).
  5. An animal – would you be able to guess Lion Pride’s favorite?

If you’re like many children, you enjoyed playing dress-up when you were young. Halloween gives us a chance to relive those days and partake in fantasy, whether you are young or just young at heart.

Lions Pride hopes you enjoy your Halloween weekend! Remember that no one ever outgrows dressing up.

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