Pumpkin is a symbol of abundance and prosperity. Interesting about the pumpkin: for Halloween and not only Pumpkin symbol meaning
The History of Jack O'Lantern.
Every October, people in the United States (and already around the world) decorate their homes for Halloween. The main attribute and symbol of this holiday is a backlit pumpkin carved in the form of a head with a frightening greedy face.
Name " Jack-o-lantern” (“Jack of the Lantern”) comes from the Irish folk tale of Jack the Drunkard ( Stingy Jack, Jack the Smith or Drunk Jack). In Ireland, it has long been traditional to celebrate the first harvest with handicrafts, these were large carved turnips and potatoes.
The Legend of Stingy Jack.
Blacksmith Jack was an amateur strong drinks and once invited the Devil "to have a drink." True to his nickname, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drinks, so he persuaded the Devil to turn into a coin. As soon as the lord of hell turned into money, Jack decided to keep it for himself, quickly putting the coin in his pocket next to the silver cross, which prevented the Devil from returning to his usual appearance.
Later, Jack released the demon on the condition that it does not bother him for a year and when Jack dies, his soul will not go to the Devil. A year later, a savvy blacksmith tricked him again, forcing him to climb a tree for fruit. But this time, Miserly Jack carved a cross on a tree trunk, but again released the Devil on the condition that he would not bother him for all ten years.
After Jack died, God did not allow such an obscene character to be in heaven. While Satan, offended by his tricks, kept his word not to take his soul, did not let Jack into the underworld. Instead, he gave Jack a piece of ember to light the way and let him go into the dark night. The blacksmith covered the charcoal with a carved turnip and has been wandering around the Earth ever since.
The Irish started calling him " Jack of the Lantern” (Jack Lantern), and then shortened to Jack O'Lantern.
In Ireland and Scotland, people began to carve their versions of scary faces out of turnips and potatoes, leaving them on windows and near doors to scare off Stingy Jack and other evil spirits. In England, large beets were used. Immigrants from these countries brought the tradition of carving lamps from root vegetables to the United States, where residents realized that the pumpkin, common in America, was ideal for such decorations.
The very first jack-o'-lanterns were carved from turnips, potatoes and beets.
Pumpkin symbolizes "Jack's lantern":
"According to Irish legend, the money-hungry blacksmith-drinker Jack once offered the ruler of the underworld to have a couple of glasses with him in a tavern. When it came time to pay, the enterprising Irishman asked the Devil to turn with a coin. After which Jack, without further ado, quickly put it to him in his pocket, where the silver cross was just lying. The Devil was trapped - "in Christ's bosom." And, no matter how hard he tried, he could not take on his original appearance. In the end, the Devil achieved his release, promising in return not to build Jack intrigues, and also after his death not to claim his soul. The second time, the cunning blacksmith circled the gullible Satan around the finger, asking him to climb a tree for fruit. As soon as the unclean perched on a spreading crown, Jack scrawled a cross on the trunk. So he bargained for himself another ten years of carefree life.Jack could not take advantage of the privileges he received as a drunkard, because he soon died.After the death of a sinner not allowed into heaven. Neither God nor the Devil needed Jack. The restless Irishman, in anticipation of the Day of Judgment, was forced to roam the earth, lighting his way with a piece of coal, which the evil one finally threw to him. Jack put a smoldering fire in an empty pumpkin and set off on a journey." (c) Vicki
It is believed that this lamp illuminates the way for souls to Purgatory.
Pumpkin in our minds is inextricably linked with autumn, it is not without reason that this berry (and pumpkin, like watermelon, is a giant berry, though) is so popular in European catering. Those who have been to the Old World in autumn know that cafes and restaurants literally compete there at this time in who will cook more pumpkin dishes, and who will have tastier ones.
However, cooking is not the only vocation of a pumpkin, with its help, from time immemorial, unloved suitors were denied, they celebrated All Saints Day with it, and even made it the protagonist of fairy tales - in Charles Perrault's Cinderella, it was the pumpkin that turned into a carriage for the main character. What is the reason for its popularity?
Taste...
Pumpkin is distinguished by its rich taste due to the useful substances it contains - carotene, fiber, vitamins C, E, PP and T and group B, salts of phosphoric acid, potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron. Pumpkin dishes are especially useful for those who suffer from hypertension, obesity and slow metabolism.
...and color
Pumpkin is an excellent sedative, a natural antidepressant, which saves not only from painful mental states, but also from blues and bad mood. And that, in addition to taste, there is another explanation: its bright orange color will please even the most notorious pessimist. Our ancestors, the ancient Slavs, believed that the pumpkin contributes to the establishment of a healthy moral climate in the house: in a family where people often quarreled, they prepared dishes from this vegetable, and the person who came to sort things out was allowed to drink pumpkin juice or taste the soup made from it or porridge, and the matter, to everyone's pleasure, ended in peace.
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Symbol of abundance and prosperity
From the time when, after harvesting, a pumpkin was brought in in large quantities - or, due to its huge size, rolled up! - in cellars and sheds, and what did not fit was kept in the house, the pumpkin is a symbol of well-being and prosperity. The hostess, looking at the abundance around her, understood that in winter the lack of food did not threaten the family, and she sighed with relief.
Nowadays, a pumpkin can be bought in stores until spring, so there is no need to buy for future use and store it in an apartment. But a small decoration in the form of a pumpkin - porcelain, glass, knitted, made of papier-mâché or sewn from scraps in the patchwork style - can be placed in the house in the most honorable place - it will attract well-being into your life.
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From the gate - turn
The special role of the pumpkin associated with matchmaking is related to Ukraine - it was here that it has long been customary to solemnly hand it over to an objectionable groom. According to the famous ethnographer Lydia Artyukh, this role of the berry is due to its commonness and everyday life: firstly, an unloved person was put in his place with such a - not honorable - gift, and secondly, it was not a pity to give it away - there was always a lot of such goodness in the household.
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Halloween symbol - Jack-flashlight
It is the pumpkin that is the symbol of the holiday, which, despite its foreign roots, has taken root in our land - more and more people on the night of October 31 to November 1 celebrate what is called All Saints' Day or Halloween. The appearance of its main symbol - Jack-o-lantern (pumpkins with carved "eyes", "nose" and "mouth" and a candle inserted inside, which looks very impressive and ominous in the dark), we owe to an old legend. Her hero, a rogue named Jack, was so cunning that he fooled the Devil himself. The evil spirit respected him and promised not to take Jack to hell. But they didn’t take him to heaven either, and since then Jack’s restless soul has been wandering the Earth, lighting his way with a pumpkin lantern with a piece of smoldering coal inside. She will find peace only after the end of the world and the Last Judgment that follows it, and until then - at least, our ancestors believed so - everyone can meet her at night on a dark road. In Europe, the Jack-o-lantern was made from potatoes, turnips and beets, but the Americans adapted a pumpkin for it, which since then has been one of the symbols of the popular holiday.
Alexandra Voloshina
Now it's time for golden autumn, a season very loved by many people. Harvest time, pleasant and cheerful, when it is still warm and not hot outside and there are no annoying insects that are constant companions of summer.
One of the most beloved autumn fruits is considered to be pumpkin. Pumpkin is not only a storehouse of vitamins and a tasty fruit, but also a talisman for many peoples. It is believed that the pumpkin absorbs negative energy and drives away dark forces. Not in vain western world decorates houses with pumpkins for halloween. You can find out in this article.
In Russia, pumpkin is more often eaten than used as a talisman, but meanwhile, a huge number of beautiful things can be made from varieties with a hard peel. Which will not only decorate any interior, but also give the energy of the sun, as the North American Indians and many other peoples believe..
It is believed that the gourd comes from South America, archaeologists have found out that pumpkin has become a cultivated plant for more than five thousand years ago, BC.
In Russia, it appeared about a century after Columbus brought the pumpkin to Europe, well, at least that's what most sources say, but who knows how it really was. Pumpkin is the most familiar vegetable in any decent garden, and I can hardly believe that she came to us from across the ocean.
In many cultures, the pumpkin is a symbol of the feminine, personifying the great mother goddess. Pumpkin is really a very tasty and beautiful symbol of fertility, abundance, warmth, comfort and good health.
Many peoples use pumpkin in the manufacture of various amulets, calabash, and household utensils.
For amulets, the pumpkin is dried and painted or carved with totem images of animals and spirits, the moon and the sun.
Even the world-famous and popular mate tea is drunk only from small dried pumpkins.
In shamanism, drinking mate tea is a special ritual, where the pumpkin symbolizes the goddess Mother Earth, and the tube through which tea is drunk, bambilia, is Father Heaven, connecting these two principles give birth to a drink - mate tea.
In China, the bottle gourd is a symbol of health, longevity and symbolizes the harmony of yin and yang.
The Indians have a myth that the pumpkin absorbs the energy of the sun, supposedly the gods hide the sun in the pumpkin when autumn comes. In order not to anger their gods, they cooked a pumpkin only after sunset.
It is good to place a pumpkin as a protection against dark forces at home and on the street, if at home, then the best place considered a window sill, standing on the window a pumpkin will protect the house from the penetration of negative energy. But let's say it's all so spiritual, which, unfortunately, is not very important for most modern people.
If the pumpkin suddenly deteriorates for unknown reasons, or splits, it is believed that it has absorbed everything bad and you cannot eat such a pumpkin, you just need to burn it.
And finally, a little about the unique useful properties pumpkins, if you don’t believe in its sacred properties, then the useful ones are so extensive and important that it’s just a waste not to use a pumpkin in the autumn.
Pumpkin seeds have long been considered an anthelmintic, pumpkin can be stewed, made jam, fried, steamed, baked.
Pumpkin makes a very tasty and healthy juice. Incredibly tasty pumpkin samsa, manti, pancakes, cakes, cereals.
Soups cooked in pumpkin are magical.
Pumpkins are used to make real works of art that bring the magic of light and a particle of solar energy into the house.
In general, I wish everyone a pumpkin in the house, with all my heart!
September 23rd, 2015 , 10:36 pm
Few people know that an ordinary pumpkin is a strong amulet for the home, it is able to absorb negative energy and scare away dark forces.
pumpkin crafts In Russia, the soft-skinned pumpkin variety is the most common, so it is more often eaten, but in South America and a number of other countries, hard-skinned pumpkins are grown, from which various amulets and utensils are made. The homeland of the pumpkin is South America, archaeologists have found that the culture in this area began to be cultivated as early as 5 thousand years BC. Young fruits are eaten, seeds are used to squeeze oil, and mature fruits with a thick skin are dried and used to make vessels for water and milk, lamps, amulets for the home, calabash, musical instruments, baskets and other products.
The pumpkin is a female symbol, personifying the great Mother Goddess, the progenitor of all things, the creative power of nature. Even with its shape - around - the pumpkin is consonant with the feminine, where inside it are numerous fruits, seeds, therefore the pumpkin is revered as a symbol of fertility and abundance, prosperity and good health. The pumpkin is considered a receptacle of beneficial energy, so its use as a ritual object is fully justified.
Among the American Indians, the fetus symbolizes the female breast and sustenance. In the tradition of South America, pumpkin is used to make amulets and calabash. The amulet is a dried pumpkin with a sacred ornament applied to it - the Mayan calendar, totem animals, the Sun and the Moon.
Calabash is also made from dried gourd, and serves as a vessel for drinking mate. In the shamanic tradition, drinking mate represents a sacred ritual act, where the pumpkin is Mother Earth, and the bambilia (the tube through which mate is drunk) is Father Heaven, in their divine intercourse they give birth to a spiritual drink - Mate.
Bottle gourd in the Chinese tradition symbolizes good health and longevity, reflects the unity of the principles of yin and yang.
According to some versions, the pumpkin is associated with the moon, but the American Indians see the connection of the pumpkin with the Sun. Pumpkin ripens by autumn, and the Indians had a myth that the gods hide the sun in a pumpkin. Thus, the Indians considered the fruit a solar symbol, and in order not to anger the sun god, it was allowed to cook food only after sunset.
The pumpkin fruit has the ability to absorb negative energy, take into itself all the negative and bad that hovers in space, thereby protecting and protecting nearby living beings. That is why the pumpkin is used as a talisman for the home - to protect against dark forces and negativity. It is favorable to place the pumpkin on the window; small fruits are suitable for this. All the bad energy that will go through the windows will be blocked by the pumpkin, thereby protecting the household from danger. If you live in your house, then it is favorable to place a pumpkin on the street, a large pumpkin of large sizes is suitable for this purpose. When something happens to a pumpkin - it deteriorates, splits, or something else happens, this means that the amulet has absorbed negative energy and is not subject to further use, and it would be best to burn it - in an oven or on a fire.