Halloween Haunts

This time of year—when the crops start to play out, the moon rises full of color and the air starts to cool—means it is time to think of one of our favorite fall occasions:  Halloween.   This neat observance offers lots of creative opportunities, ways to decorate, gifts to make and fun to share.

Of all the images and you might have concerning Halloween, the pumpkin is surely one of the most popular.  Pumpkins have been raised for centuries, and along with them have come several interesting tales.  But would you believe that, originally, other vegetables were used to carve scary faces into?  In Ireland, turnips and potatoes were decorated and then placed in windows to scare away evil spirits.  In England, large beets were used for carving.  The tradition came to America with immigrants who soon discovered our native pumpkins were perfect for use as jack-o’-lanterns.

Native Americans dried strips of pumpkin and wove them into mats to cushion their sleeping areas and to use to cover the ground of their dwellings.  They also roasted strips of pumpkin on open fires and ate them as dried food.  The wonderful fall tradition of pumpkin pie was originated by the colonists who cut away the top of their pumpkins, removed the seeds and pulp and then filled the empty shell with milk, spices and honey.  The pumpkin was baked in hot ashes.  The end result was a creamy, fruity, sweet treat loved by all.

Today our Halloween use of pumpkins can be a lot of fun and very creative.  Carving and decoration of the round orange orbs is almost an expected activity in the fall.  What late October would be complete without some sort of pumpkin decoration? 

Carving can be accomplished with almost any tool:  spoons, table or plastic knives, potato peelers, forks, melon ballers, ice cream scoops, sharp implements like paring knives (use care) and even citrus zesters.  Cut the top off and scoop out the seeds and fibers. (Ice cream scoops make great clean out tools).  Draw on your face design with chalk and then carve away.  Use strips made with a vegetable peeler or citrus zester to create hair.  Ears can be made from slices taken from the interior of the fruit.  Combine carving with painting for a very special look.

Carving can be a bit difficult for some youngsters, so there are other ways to use pumpkins as decorations.  Painted spooky faces can be fun and much easier than carving.  You might want to start with a paper drawing so that you can get the shapes and locations of the features of the face planned before you start to paint.  Acrylic paints will stick very well to a clean, dry pumpkin surface.  Permanent markers do a pretty good job, too, especially for fine line details.  To seal the decorations and make them last a little longer, you can even spray the finished art pumpkin with lacquer, but it is not necessary to do so.  Happy Halloween!