How to Carve Your Own Pumpkins for Halloween
If you want to get into the Halloween spirit and decorate your home with wonderful Jack pumpkins, below you will find the materials you will need as well as the step‑by‑step instructions to make them yourself.
What we will need:
- 1 pumpkin in a suitable shape
- Marker and pencil
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 large spoon
- Kitchen paper
- Towel
- 1 fork or craft knife
First, we look for a pumpkin design something like this.
Then we cut off the top of the pumpkin so that the inside is visible.
We clean it very well inside, removing all the seeds with the spoon. We carefully scrape the inner walls, because this way we avoid odors and possible accidents with the candle.
We first draw the design with a pencil so that we can correct it if needed. Then, once we are sure, we go over it with a marker.
We take the craft knife and carefully trace the whole design we have drawn. Finally, with the knife we gently remove the pumpkin pieces so that it takes shape.
Extra tip: try to slightly round off the openings of the pumpkin at the end so that the candlelight comes out more softly and beautifully. You can also keep the seeds in a towel so you can plant your own pumpkins later.
Here is the legend of Stingy Jack, from which the tradition of the Halloween pumpkin was born.
According to an old Irish legend, Jack once invited the devil to have a drink with him, but he did not want to pay for his drink and so convinced the devil to transform into a coin. Then Jack, instead of paying, put the coin in his pocket next to a cross, and so the devil could not take his normal form again. After many pleas, Jack freed him, making him promise that he would not bother him for a year and would not claim his soul when he died.
After the year had passed, the devil appeared again while Jack was trying to pick a fruit from a tree. Jack asked the devil to climb the tree and pick the fruit for him.
When the devil climbed up, Jack immediately carved a cross into the trunk and so the devil was trapped and could not come down. The devil begged Jack to free him, promising that he would not bother him for ten whole years. Then Jack set him free.
When Jack died
and went to heaven, God did not accept him because he was a bad person and sent him to hell. But the devil did not want him there either and drove him away. Then Jack asked him: “How will I leave? Outside it is dark.” The devil took a burning coal and gave it to him to light his way through the night.
Jack took a turnip (which he always carried with him, as it was one of his favorite foods), carved it out and put the coal inside. Since then he has been wandering around the world, unable to find a place to rest his soul.
That is why every Halloween, the Irish carve turnips, potatoes and pumpkins, put a candle inside and place them near windows to keep evil spirits away, and especially the spirit of Stingy Jack.
For more ideas on how small creative rituals can bring more joy into your everyday life, you can also read our article Dream, Hope, Take Risks.
Happy Life Team
