Random crap with Uno.

[Geo]

That one I see.
Still nothing from the post I reported on.

[Unorthodox]

Which is really weird.

Ok, looks like I have to shift them all over to a new album.  That'll have to wait till I have a block of time to do that. 

[Spacy]

From what we can see it looks nice

[Unorthodox]

One thing I'll say.  I got many more comments on the costume this year than normal. 



Many absolutely baffled at how it was done, which admittedly wasn't a terrible job at all for putting it on myself.  Many found it creepy.  A select few were terrified.  Only one left in tears, however. 

I found it completely silly (I really don't get either clowns or the pumpkinheads), but a definite improvement over the last one



   

[Unorthodox]

Anyone know whats supposed to be going on there?

[Buster's Uncle]

Well, that grate she's dragging is some sort of plow-ish thing - I've seen the like on a rather larger scale, but never in use, nor heard what it's for - in all, I'd guess strange Edwardian harvest imagery w/ the creepy meant to be turned low...

[Unorthodox]

Yes, I imagine it's a harrow rake, but for the life of me can't figure out why pumpkin head would be following behind.  (or for that matter what it has to do with halloween) 

UNLESS...maybe those are supposed to be poppies, and it's some kind of opium reference?  Honestly don't know the age of the card in question. 

Anywho, still don't explain how that ended up on a search for the little orphant annie silent film...

[Rusty Edge]

Yes, it looks like a spike tooth harrow, which could be used to incorporate seed that has been scattered  or broadcast on the ground, or to prepare a shallow seedbed. They don't work very well among roots and rocks.

I think the flowers look more like thistles.

" Throughout history, many cultures have adopted the flower as a positive emblem, cultivating unique stories that tell the tales of past heritages.  France for instance associates thistle as a weapon against witches and bad doers.  Commonly called “Flower of the Sun” or “Herb of Witches”, the French believed that witches could not look into the sun, but the strong thistle always stood proudly to face the light.  Because of this, lure proclaims that the flower is the icon for the sun sent down to protect others from harm and evil." http://blog.exoticflowers.com/blog-0/the-meaning-of-the-thistle-flower

So is she protecting herself from the jack-o-lantern man at night by seeding thistles ? Or is he just attracted to a seedbed?

[Unorthodox]

Well now, there's a tidbit I'm going to stow away for later use. 

[Unorthodox]

Yes, it looks like a spike tooth harrow, which could be used to incorporate seed that has been scattered  or broadcast on the ground, or to prepare a shallow seedbed. They don't work very well among roots and rocks.

I think the flowers look more like thistles.

" Throughout history, many cultures have adopted the flower as a positive emblem, cultivating unique stories that tell the tales of past heritages.  France for instance associates thistle as a weapon against witches and bad doers.  Commonly called “Flower of the Sun” or “Herb of Witches”, the French believed that witches could not look into the sun, but the strong thistle always stood proudly to face the light.  Because of this, lure proclaims that the flower is the icon for the sun sent down to protect others from harm and evil." http://blog.exoticflowers.com/blog-0/the-meaning-of-the-thistle-flower

So is she protecting herself from the jack-o-lantern man at night by seeding thistles ? Or is he just attracted to a seedbed?

So I've gone pretty deep diving and can't find any history linking thistle with the holiday...

HOWEVER, I ran into some Poppy customs, where the red Poppy is a mark of remembrance day in the UK, and it's proximity to Halloween got it mixed up a bit especially in the North.  I'm not convinced that's what's depicted, but the red poppy WAS briefly a Halloween emblem. 

Not that I'm convinced it's NOT thistle, mind you. 

I've also managed to date the card to 1910-1915.  That's the range that pumpkin head man was used. 

(pay no mind to this, it's for next years invitations:   "BARTON & SPOONER" BS
Series No 7107 Artist ----- Bernhardt Wall) 

[Unorthodox]

Found the thing.  Artist B. Hofmann,  Gottschalk, Dreyfuss & Davis company...

Printed in Germany.  1910.   

In fact, the whole thistle thing, AND HALLOWEEN, was apparently a fairly big deal in germany prior to WWI.  There is horrendously poor documentation on this. 

This is really cool stuff, I'm going to have to follow this down the rabbit hole all the way.  Perhaps the most odd tradition I can find is a THISTLE TREE made for Halloween (that be a traditional turnip-lantern):



My best guess is some odd mixing of Halloween and Vetrnaetr, in which Thistle played a role as a symbol for Donar. 

[Spacy]

Very thistle looking

[Rusty Edge]

Well, here's your state noxious weed classifications, in case some neighbor tries to get you in trouble.
http://ag.utah.gov/divs-progs/50-plants-and-pests/hay-grain-seed/599-noxious-weed-list.html

[Buster's Uncle]

No way Uno isn't already familiar with that...

[Unorthodox]

Well, that was some very fascinating research from a random start. 

The traditional narrative has been that Halloween was brought to America by the Irish.  I'd always argued there was too much Germanic influence for that to be the whole story. 

Traditional narrative would have you believe the Catholic church made all saints on November 2 to abolish the pagan Samhain, much like they did the other holidays.  I've just discovered this narrative is in debate.  German bishops began writing the pope to move All Saints to November in the early-mid 1700s in order to help abolish Dísablót and Álfablót ceremonies still common in rural areas of Germany.  The Protestant churches of Germany moved all saints to November by the early 1700s, with the Catholic church officially moving it in the mid 1700s.  There the blót and All Saints' traditions intermingled for a while. 

Then came Bismark and his Kulturkrampf.  Among the tools used, he decided to highlight a Halloween celebrations that held a lot of the Álfablót origins over All Saints activities, with American expatriates. This became increasingly popular in Germany up to the 1930s, when it fell suddenly out of favor. 

Halloween did not survive WWII in Germany, but a lot of the Germans who come to america brought some of their Halloween traditions with them...Most notably, the creation of a pumpkin-man.  (derived from the turnip tree above)  These effigies were made to represent the elves being honored at the respective blót. 

Thus, the card above would almost certainly represent an Álfablót leftover.  Head of the household blessing her field to curry favor with the elves (represented by the pumpkin man).  However, many of the particulars are lost to time. 

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, however, Halloween has been gaining popularity again in Germany, with a lot of folks fighting against it as being an American institution.  The historically German aspects seem lost.   


This all gives me some devilishly twisted ideas.