Pumpkin Carving Artist Steve Dahlke

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Since we are now in the fall season, the first thing that comes to mind is Pumpkins. Right? Pumpkins are a trademark of the fall season; however have you ever wonder the history of the pumpkin and the Jack-o-Lantern. Well here is a little history on the Jack-0-Lantern.

History of the Jack-o-Lantern

People have been making jack-o-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o lanterns.

Steve Dahlke

On that note let's talk about a Pumpkin carving expert and his works. Steve Dahlke has been carving for 20 years. His love for carving started when he was only 19 years old. When Steve was 19, he was already creating scary faces and works of art on pumpkins weighing approximately 60 lbs or more. In 1989, his carving took first place at the pumpkin weigh off in Elk Grove, Illinois. Steve enjoys carving all types of pumpkins but his specialty is carving pumpkins weighing well over 500 pounds. Here is some of his work.