What would Halloween be without pumpkins for jack-o’-lanterns
and other decorations? Well, Would you believe carved turnips and
beets? Yes, many other fruits and vegetables besides pumpkins have
strong connections to Halloween!
What would Halloween be without pumpkins for jack-o’-lanterns and other decorations? Well, Would you believe carved turnips and beets? Yes, many other fruits and vegetables besides pumpkins have strong connections to Halloween!

Halloween lanterns originally were carved out of turnips and large beets in England and Ireland. Faces of demons were cut into the vegetables and a glowing coal was placed inside. People carried these lanterns around the village or left them burning on doorsteps to ward off evil spirits.

It was only when Irish immigrants arrived in America that they found pumpkins abundant and much easier to carve than turnips. Thus, the tradition of turning pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns began.

The custom of decorating with apples, pumpkins, cornstalks and autumn leaves originated with an ancient Druid autumn festival called Samhain (pronounced SAH-win). The festival celebrated the end of summer and a successful harvest. Today, apples sometimes are used as Halloween giveaways, but most, I’m sure, would prefer to receive a chocolate bar.

During the Victorian era, apples were more than just an edible treat. In fact, apples played a significant role in determining a young girl’s future.

It was said that by slipping an apple under a young girl’s pillow on Halloween eve, she was sure to dream of her sweetheart. Apples also were sued to provide the identity of the man she would marry. At midnight on Halloween, a girl would stand in front of a mirror and brush her hair three times while eating an apple. The image of her future husband would appear in the mirror over her shoulder.

Once she saw his face, she peeled an apple in a single strip, tossing the peel over left shoulder. The peel would form the initial of his name. Sounds a little complicated, doesn’t it?

If a young girl couldn’t choose between two suitors, on Halloween night she took a pair of hazelnuts and, giving them each a name of one of her beaus, tossed them in a fire. The nut that burned the brightest or popped the loudest indicated which man was to be hers. In England, this night became known as Nutcrack Night.

Other plants and herbs also have been associated with Halloween through the years. Rosemary, for instance, was placed over the cradle of babies on Halloween to protect them in Mediterranean countries. Rosemary often was burned with juniper and thyme as a means of cleansing a room of witches and bad spirits.

In fact, if you’re worried about witches and evil spirits, just plant a few juniper bushes around your home. Witches are bound by their laws to count every last needle of junipers before they enter a house. If they make a mistake, they have to start counting all over again. Have you ever looked at how many needles there are on junipers? Naturally, it was said that witches almost always ended up flying off in a rage.

Finally, living in Gilroy, I can’t forget about garlic to ward off evil spirits. Just in case.

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