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Morning Start: Jack-o’-lanterns originate from an Irish myth

Your morning start for Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021
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Good morning and happy Wednesday! It’s a mix of sunshine and clouds today, with a chance of rain in the mix as well.

Fun fact: Jack-o’-lanterns originate from an Irish myth

Carving ghoulish faces into pumpkins, sticking a candle inside and rebranding them as jack-o’-lanterns is a Halloween hallmark that originated from Ireland, with turnips and potatoes serving as early canvases, as noted by History.com.

According to History, the name jack-o’-lantern originates from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack, who invited the devil to have a drink with him before refusing to pay for his own drink.

The story goes that he then convinced the devil to turn himself into a coin so that he could pay for their drinks. The devil agreed, but Jack decided to keep the money instead, stuffing the coin into his pocket next to a silver cross and preventing the devil from changing back into his original form.

Jack would eventually free the devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and not claim his soul if he were to die. A year went by and Jack again tricked the devil, this time convincing him to climb a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While the devil was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree so that the devil could not come down until he promised Jack not to bother him for another 10 years.

Jack died soon after, but God refused to accept 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,” reads the article. “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.”

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In case you missed it

Approximately 39 per cent of public schools in the Central Okanagan are dealing with one or more potential COVID-19 exposure events, elementary schools accounting for 71 per cent of them.

Data from Interior Health’s (IH) list of school exposures reveals that of the 44 schools in School District 23 (SD23), 17 are dealing with potential COVID-19 exposures, with the earliest date of all events coming on Sept. 21.

Read the full story here.

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That’s all for today. Everyone, have a great day!


@aaron_hemens
aaron.hemens@kelownacapnews.com

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