History of the Jack O'Lantern

Halloween celebrations are incomplete if you do not take time to carve your Jack O'Lantern. While many of us painstaking carve our pumpkins, we have no clue about its history.

It is believed that the tradition of carving pumpkins with amusing and scary faces began when Irish immigrants landed in America. The Irish used to turnips in Ireland, but on reaching America, they opted for a cheaper vegetable, the orange squash. Also, it is believed that turnips were not that easily available during those days in the US.

According to legends and myths, the Irish practice of carving turnips began way back in the 1700s. It is believed that a man named Drunk Jack, one day, met a very special guest in his local pub. This guest was none other than Satan. However, Satan was not considered to be good drinking buddy as he used to get his companions to pay the large pub bill and often take their souls. The day Jack met Satan was on Halloween night.

Irish are known even today for their drinking abilities. So, Jack although a heavy drinker did not lose his wits in presence of Satan. Instead, he offered a deal to him. He told Satan that if he would pay for the drinks, then Jack would be willing to give his soul to Satan in return. Pleased by the deal, Satan took up the offer. However, instead of paying for the drinks, Satan turned himself into a coin. On seeing this Jack grabbed the coin and pushed it into his money purse which also contained a silver crucifix. This led to Satan getting imprisoned in the purse. However, Satan wanted to get out, so he made a deal with Jack. He promised that Jack could spend another 10 years of his life on Earth before Satan returned to take his soul.

When the 10 years came to an end, Satan came to take Jack's soul. Jack pretended that he was all set to accompany Satan to Hell. However, he asked Satan to give pluck an apple from the apple tree. Satan climbed the tree and then Jack carved a crucifix on the tree, once again trapping Satan. This time, Jack asked Satan to release his soul in exchange for freedom. And, Satan had to agree.

When Jack finally died, he made his way to the Pearly Gates, but was denied entry into Heaven because of his alcoholism and other bad misdeeds. As a result, Jack was sent to Hell. But even in Hell, Satan refused entry to Jack, damning his soul forever. However, Satan felt sorry for Jack and gave him an ember taken from the fires of Hell. Jack put the ember into a carved turnip to light the way through eternal darkness as his soul stayed suspended between Heaven and Hell.

The Irish believed on Halloween night Jack and other damned souls like him come to visit people. Hence, to ward off these damned souls, they began carving turnips and lighting a candle in them.

When the Irish came to America, they found it difficult to get turnips, so they began using pumpkins. Slowly, the practice of placing carved pumpkins spread across the country and now Jack O'Lantern is a normal fixture and decoration on Halloween night.

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The History of PrideFest

PrideFest is a nationally celebrated event that is usually held in June. The festival is held in major cities across the United States as a celebration of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Many PrideFests have become a city wide festival that attracts food, music and parades that the entire community participates in as an opportunity to celebrate diversity.

And while hundreds of thousands of Americans gather to show their support for the GLBT community, the actual story of how this celebration came to be isn't as well known. The reason the country celebrates GLBT pride in late June every year, began in New York City in Greenwich Village on June 28, 1969.

In the early hours of morning that day, police raided a small bar named the Stonewall Inn, predominately known for its gay clientele. The club was invaded on a charge of illegal sale of alcohol and each customer was released except for the bar staff, three drag queens and two male-to-female transsexuals. During the raid a crowd began to gather outside of the bar, cheering each time a customer was released. But when the detainees were brought outside to be taken away, the crowd grew angry and a riot ensued. In the end, 13 people were arrested and some officers were injured during the commotion.

The next day and throughout the week, protesters would gather outside the closed-down bar. But they did not riot, many gay men from around the area showed up to protest the raid on the bar. But they were not violent, instead they protested by handholding, showing affection, and forming a chorus line. The police cleared the protests with no further altercations.

Later in July, gay activists gathered calling for a mass meeting and the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was formed on July 24, 1969. At that time there were only a few dozen gay organizations in the United States, and within a few years after that there were over 400. The GLF began gathering to remember this historic event every June and each year, the celebration grew.

Now every year these events are remembered in June across America as the beginning of a movement. Millions of people participate in pride events across the country. Large cities host giant celebrations like Milwaukee, Denver and Ft. Lauderdale where they are nationally known for the festivals they host. But it's important to remember it all began in New York City when a group of men stood up with pride.

The Curtis Hotel http://www.thecurtis.com/ is a unique retro-style hotel in downtown Denver that offers lower rates during Denver's PrideFest.

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United States Welfare System - A History: Part 2

The Great Depression in the 1930's brought about the need for the creation of a national welfare system in the United States. In part 1 of this 2 part series, we covered the birth of this welfare system into World War II. In this, part, 2 we will follow that history into the present-day. For the most part, the welfare system grew slowly but steadily during the 40's and 50's in financial aid, but there was little in the way of real change of its basic structure.

All of that changed when John F. Kennedy assumed office in 1960. JFK intended to wage a "War on Poverty" by training Americans and putting them to work by creating educational, functional programs such as the Job Corps. After JFK's assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson carried the mantle in his place. In 1965, Medicaid and Medicare were established to provide medical assistance for the elderly and disabled and those on welfare. This change meant that 1 out of every 4 Americans received some form of federal assistance.

Nixon aimed higher, looking to establish the Family Assistance Plan to guarantee a minimum income to all families in 1972, though SSI (Supplemental Social Income) was passed, establishing a base income for the disabled. Welfare rights were expanded and held up by the Supreme Court. It was to help support minorities and women that were being unfairly denied benefits in the segregated Deep South.

By the mid 1970's, another financial crisis assaulted the United States. Unemployment soared. Energy prices rose, and inflation came into being. The requirement that single women without the presence of a father in the home were the only ones who could qualify for welfare was lifted. The welfare system and those aided by its benefits grew substantially. By 1980, Ronald Reagan and the conservatives took power because many Americans believed that the welfare system had become swollen. In the mid 80's, unemployment insurance decreased nearly 7%, and the welfare system lost much of its federal subsidy.

In the 90's, the welfare battle continued. Bill Clinton promised to end welfare, though he attempted to launch a sweeping federal healthcare system, while the Republicans vowed welfare reform, led by Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich who stated that the Congress would: "replace the welfare state with the opportunity society."

This led to the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996. Essentially the Act replaced open-ended federal assistance with TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), setting a maximum amount that the federal government would set aside to assist states with in regards to needy families being aided by the welfare system. This Act put much of the responsibility for welfare back on the states, off of the federal government. The thought was that no one is entitled to assistance and that the welfare system had created a welfare mentality. States were urged to train people and reduce their welfare budget, as well. This put many people back into the workforce, but meant they had to take jobs that paid them an income that provided for a life below the federal poverty line. By 1999, 2.2 million families or single parents were receiving welfare assistance. That was 2 million fewer families or single parents than received such aid in 1994.

The economy boomed in the 90's, but in October of 2008, the United States and the world faced a crushing economic crisis, the largest since the Great Depression of the 1930's. The housing bubble burst, unemployment percentages spiked to double-digit figures, banks and the stock market crashed, and America once again saw its unemployment ranks and welfare system swell. The end of the Bush Administration and the beginning of the Obama Administration have seen the federal government once again assist its citizens and its corporations with bail outs, increased welfare benefits, and unemployment duration extensions. The President Obama Administration had passed a national healthcare act at long last, known as Obamacare, though it is unclear if or when the Act will be instituted as a conservative backlash is still fighting the policy. Once again America is faced with financial crisis, and once again the federal government is expanding welfare assistance.

Opponents of a welfare state deride welfare as a bloated system that rewards the weak and robs the productive. They say that welfare burdens businesses. They also claim it causes taxes to increase, and inflation to rise, and that much is historically accurate. Proponents of a national welfare system argue that sometimes people need help, and some people simply cannot fend for themselves. That also is true. Nonetheless, somewhere there must exist a happy medium. Though no one can predict the future, history of the welfare system in this country is clear enough and easy enough to follow and one thing is for sure since its origination in 1935, it hasn't disappeared. It has swelled, and it has slimmed down over the past 7 decades, but it hasn't gone away, and history never lies. Perhaps it is time to stop bickering over whether or not we need a welfare system, it is here, and history says it isn't going anywhere. The advantage of history is that we can acquire knowledge from it. If we agree that welfare in some form is here and here to stay, maybe we can examine what has worked and what hasn't. We can also try to establish a better system that works for the most important institution, not the Congress, not the Presidency, not the Republicans or the Democrats, but the United States of America and its persevering citizens; who, through good times and bad have remained one nation, indivisible, seeking truth and justice for all.

With 13 years of research experience, History in all its manifestations is Miriam B. Medina's passion, and she loves nothing more than sharing what she learns with everyone. So be sure to check it out at http://thehistorybox.com/, a one-stop resource center for writers, journalists, historians, teachers and students.

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