🚀 go-pugleaf

On Sat, 26 Dec 1998, Javier de Baraka wrote:

> Kaixo,
>   I need some information from people who know North American culture,
> and I thought I could get it from this list (I'm not subscribed to any
> "American-L").
>   A friend of mine wants to make a pumpkin lantern like the ones North
> Americans use in Halloween, and we wondered how long it could last.

Depending on how fresh the pumpkin is, it will probably last for between
three and seven days.

>   Does it smell bad after some days?

In my experience, it normally goes soft and collapses first, before any
bad smell becomes noticeable.

>   Do people use the same lanterns for several years or do they have to
> make a new one every year?

You must make a new one every year.

>   Do we have to varnish it? Just the inner side or all the surface?

I've never heard of varnishing a jack-o'-lantern.  Varnishing the inner
side would probably be impossible, since the varnish wouldn't stick --
and anyway putting flammable varnish inside with the candle strikes me
as a bad idea.  I guess you could probably varnish the outside, if you
wanted to, but nobody ever does back home.


Larry Trask
COGS
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

larryt@cogs.susx.ac.uk