[Guest]

Who Is The “Jack” In The Term “Jack-o’-lantern,” Anyway?



This month thousands of Americans will scoop out the flesh of a gourd, carefully carve a haunting face into its rind, and stick a candle inside. The creations are called jack-o’-lanterns, and they will be proudly displayed on porches and stoops across the country.
But who, or what, is the namesake of this autumn tradition?
Who are jack-o’-lanterns named for?
Jack has been a general term for a boy since the 1500s and for this reason, it found its way into many childhood songs and rhymes. The British can claim ownership of the original use of the phrase jack-o’-lantern. In the 17th century, it referred to a night watchman, a man who literally carried a lantern.
But, jack-o’-lantern was also a nickname for strange, flickering lights seen at night over wetlands or peat bogs and mistaken to be fairies or ghosts. This natural phenomenon is also called ignis fatuus, or “foolish fire,” friar’s lantern, and will-o’-the-wisp.
By the mid-1800s, what was called a turnip lantern became known as a jack-o’-lantern. Young boys used these hollowed-out and lit-up root vegetables to spook people. Irish legend has it that this use of jack-o’-lantern was named after a fellow named Stingy Jack.
Stingy Jack thought he had tricked the devil, but the devil had the last laugh, condemning Jack to an eternity of wandering the planet with only an ember of hellfire for light. Jack’s lanterns were carved out of potatoes, turnips, and the vegetables, in Scotland and Ireland, while beets were used in England. When immigrants brought this custom to North America, pumpkins eventually became the vegetable of choice.
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A deadlier type of jack-o’-lantern
There’s also a dangerous version of a jack-o’-lantern. A poisonous luminescent orange fungus, Omphalotus olearius, is commonly known as the jack-o’-lantern mushroom! Found in woodland areas of Europe, this glowing growth clusters at the base of decomposing hardwood tree stumps. While the mushroom won’t produce a strong enough glow to power your next hollowed-out gourd, it is a great conversation starter at your next jack-o’-lantern carving party.

[Guest]

Why Do We Say “Trick or Treat”?

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"Trick or Treat" is the quintessential Halloween greeting but why do we say it?

It’s many kids’ favorite part of Halloween. There’s no feeling quite like waiting for a stranger to open their door so you can scream the words “Trick or treat!” But, why do we say it? What does it actually mean?
Where does the phrase trick-or-treat come from?
While some identify precursors to trick-or-treating in ancient Celtic customs, modern trick-or-treating is thought to be a custom borrowed from guising or mumming in England, Scotland, and Ireland. These involve dressing in costume and singing a rhyme, doing a card trick, or telling a story in exchange for a sweet.
Some have traced the earliest print reference of the term trick or treat to 1927 in Canada. It appears that the practice didn’t really take hold in the US until the 1930s, where it wasn’t always well received. The demanding of a treat angered or puzzled some adults.
Supposedly, in a Halloween parade in 1948 in New York, the Madison Square Boys Club carried a banner sporting the message “American Boys Don’t Beg.” But by 1950s, the practice was widely accepted enough to be mentioned in popular media, like in the comic strip Peanuts.
If Halloween is your favorite holiday, we’re sure you already know what the –een in Halloween means … muahaha.

[BettyGlota]

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE. Nuevo Objetivo. Ya en cines.