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Jack-o'-lanterns
A jack-o'-lantern (or jack o'lantern) is a carved lantern, most commonly made from a pumpkin, or formerly a root vegetable such as a mangelwurzel, rutabaga or turnip. Jack-o'-lanterns are associated with the Halloween holiday. Its name comes from the phenomenon of strange lights flickering over peat bogs, called ''jack-o'-lanterns'' (also known as ''will-o'-the-wisps''). It is suggested that the name also has ties to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a drunkard who bargains with Satan and is doomed to roam the Earth with only a hollowed turnip to light his way. Jack-o'-lanterns carved from pumpkins are a yearly Halloween tradition that developed in the United States when Irish, Cornish, Scottish and other Celts (modern), Celtic influenced immigrants brought their root vegetable carving traditions with them. It is common to see jack-o'-lanterns used as external and interior decorations prior to and on Halloween. To make a jack-o'-lantern, the top of a pumpkin is cut off to for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Halloween
Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day, All Hallows' Day. It is at the beginning of the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the Christian liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), Christian martyr, martyrs, and all the faithful departed. In popular culture, Halloween has become a celebration of Horror fiction, horror and is associated with the macabre and the supernatural. One theory holds that many Halloween traditions were influenced by Celts, Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaels, Gaelic festival Samhain, which are believed to have Paganism, pagan roots. Some theories go further and suggest that Samhain may have been Christianization, Christianized as All Hallows' Day, along with its eve, by the Ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Stingy Jack
Stingy Jack O'Lantern, also known as Jack the Smith, Drunk Jack, Flaky Jack or Jack-o'-lantern, is a mythical character sometimes associated with All Hallows Eve while also acting as the mascot of the holiday. The "jack-o'-lantern" may be derived from the character. History An 1836 edition of the ''Dublin Penny Journal'' has Jack help an old man who is revealed to be an angel. To reward him, the angel grants Jack three wishes. He uses these to punish anyone who sits in his chair, takes wood from his tree, or tries to take his cobbling tools, by fixing them to the ground. The angel is disappointed by this and bars Jack from entering Heaven. Jack manages to deflect Satan's messengers who attempt to trick him, and he is condemned to roam the world neither Heaven or Hell. In 1851, Hercules Ellis presumably wrote and published "The Romance of Jack-o'-Lantern," a romantic poem, in poetry anthology ''The Rhyme Book''. The poem described Stingy Jack's encounters with an angel and with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
East Of England
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that east is the direction where the Sun rises: ''east'' comes from Middle English ''est'', from Old English ''ēast'', which itself comes from the Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic *''aus-to-'' or *''austra-'' "east, toward the sunrise", from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *aus- "to shine," or "dawn", cognate with Old High German ''*ōstar'' "to the east", Latin ''aurora'' 'dawn', and Greek language, Greek ''ēōs'' 'dawn, east'. Examples of the same formation in other languages include Latin Orient, oriens 'east, sunrise' from orior 'to rise, to originate', Greek language, Greek ανατολή Anatolia, anatolé 'east' from ἀνατέλλω 'to rise' and Hebrew מִזְרָח mizraḥ 'east' from זָרַח zara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Window Sill
A windowsill (also written window sill or window-sill, and less frequently in British English, cill) is the horizontal structure or surface at the bottom of a window. Window sills serve to structurally support and hold the window in place. The exterior portion of a window sill provides a mechanism for shedding rainwater away from the wall at the window opening. Therefore, window sills are usually inclined slightly downward away from the window and wall, and often extend past the exterior face of the wall, so the water will drip off rather than run down the wall. Some windowsills are made of natural stone, cast stone, concrete, tile, or other non-porous materials to further increase their water resistance. Windows may not have a structural sill or the sill may not be sufficiently weather resistant. In these cases, a strip of waterproof and weather resistant material (steel, vinyl, PVC) called a sill pan may be used to protect the wall and shed the water. Like the sill, a sil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Apotropaic Magic
Apotropaic magic (From ) or protective magic is a type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye. Apotropaic observances may also be practiced out of superstition or out of tradition, as in good luck charms (perhaps some token on a charm bracelet), amulets, or gestures such as crossed fingers or knocking on wood. Many different objects and charms were used for protection throughout history. Symbols and objects Ancient Egypt Apotropaic magical rituals were practiced throughout the ancient Near East and ancient Egypt. Fearsome deities were invoked via ritual in order to protect individuals by warding away evil spirits. In ancient Egypt, these household rituals (performed in the home, not in state-run temples) were embodied by the deity who personified magic itself, Heka. The two gods most frequently invoked in these rituals were the hippopotamus-formed fertility goddess, Taweret, and the lion-deity, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Punkie Night
Punkie Night is a traditional West Country holiday practised on the last Thursday of October in Somerset. Children will march around with a ''punkie'', that is a jack o'lantern traditionally made from a mangelwurzel, singing the following song : It's Punkie Night tonight It's Punkie Night tonight Adam and Eve would not believe It's Punkie Night tonight There are some variants which also include these lines: "Give me a candle, give me a light If you don't, you'll get a fright" or alternatively: "Give me a candle give me light If you haven't a candle, a penny's all right" (Cooper & Sullivan, 1994). As Cooper and Sullivan (1994) explain, this relates to the tradition of children would begging for candles on this night, and threaten people who refused to give them anything (compare the custom of Trick or Treat). Cooper and Sullivan also explain how a Punkie King and a Punkie Queen would typically lead the proceedings. Origins of the custom The custom originated in the village ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. The largest settlement is the city of Bath, Somerset, Bath, and the county town is Taunton. Somerset is a predominantly rural county, especially to the south and west, with an area of and a population of 965,424. After Bath (101,557), the largest settlements are Weston-super-Mare (82,418), Taunton (60,479), and Yeovil (49,698). Wells, Somerset, Wells (12,000) is a city, the second-smallest by population in England. For Local government in England, local government purposes the county comprises three Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas: Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, and Somerset Council, Somerset. Bath and North East Somerset Council is a member of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Calan Gaeaf
''Calan Gaeaf'' is the name of the first day of winter in Wales, observed on 1 November. The night before is ''Nos Galan Gaeaf'' or ''Noson Galan Gaeaf'', an ''Ysbrydnos'' ("spirit night") when spirits are abroad. Traditionally, people avoid churchyards, stiles, and crossroads, since spirits are thought to gather there. The term is first recorded in literature as "''Kalan Gayaf"'' in the laws of Hywel Dda. The same term, '' Kalan Gwav'', is found in the Cornish language, and ''Kalan Goañv'' in Breton. Traditions Dancing On ''Nos Calan Gaeaf'', women and children would dance around a bonfire and everyone would write their names on, or otherwise mark, rocks and place them in and around said fire. When the fire started to die out, they would all run home, believing if they stayed, ''Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta'' (a bad omen that took the form of a tailless black sow with a headless woman) or ''Y Ladi Wen'' ("the white lady", a ghostly apparition often said to be headless) would chase ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Aos Sí
' (; English approximation: ; older form: ) is the Irish name for a supernatural race in Gaelic folklore, similar to elves. They are said to descend from the Tuatha Dé Danann or the gods of Irish mythology. The name ''aos sí'' means "folk of the ''sí''"; these are the burial mounds in which they are said to dwell, which are seen as portals to an Otherworld. Such abodes are referred to in English as 'shee', 'fairy mounds', 'elf mounds' or 'hollow hills'. The ''aos sí'' interact with humans and the human world. They are variously said to be the ancestors, the spirits of nature, or goddesses and gods. Evans Wentz, W. Y. (1966, 1990The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries Gerrards Cross, Colin Smythe Humanities Press In modern Irish, they are also called ''daoine sí''; in Scottish Gaelic ''daoine sìth'' ('folk of the fairy mounds'). Etymology In the Irish language, ''aos sí'', earlier ''aes sídhe'', means "folk of the fairy mounds". In Old Irish, it was ''áes síde'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Samhain
Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year was into two parts, the summer half beginning at Bealtaine (May 1st) and the winter half at Samhain (November 1st) ... The festivals properly began at sunset on the day before the actual date, evincing the Celtic tendency to regard the night as preceding the day". It is also the Irish and Scottish Gaelic name for November. Celebrations begin on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, Celtic day began and ended at sunset. This is about halfway between the September equinox, autumnal equinox and winter solstice. It is one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Goidelic Languages
The Goidelic ( ) or Gaelic languages (; ; ) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from Ireland through the Isle of Man to Scotland. There are three modern Goidelic languages: Irish ('), Scottish Gaelic ('), and Manx ('). Manx died out as a first language in the 20th century but has since been revived to some degree. Nomenclature ''Gaelic'', by itself, is sometimes used to refer to Scottish Gaelic, especially in Scotland, and therefore is ambiguous. Irish and Manx are sometimes referred to as Irish Gaelic and Manx Gaelic (as they are Goidelic or Gaelic languages), but the use of the word ''Gaelic'' is unnecessary because the terms Irish and Manx, when used to denote languages, always refer to those languages. This is in contrast to Scottish Gaelic, for which "Gaelic" distinguishes the language from the Germanic language known as Scots. In Englis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
