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Halloween
Tradition #4 - The Raising of the Scarecrow
Many, many years ago we started a tradition that we
call
"Raising the Halloween Scarecrow", and have repeated it
every October 13th. since then. While it may sound
elaborate, it really only takes about thirty minutes to setup
and maybe ten minutes for the actual "ritual".
The
Preparation
Originally, we made a
special scarecrow just for this event by
assembling a distressed
Bucky
Skeleton body, a artificial Jack O' Lantern for the head
and a purposely distressed Grim Reaper robe for it's clothing.
The mast pole was made from round stake fence poles. Later,
this scarecrow was replaced with another more traditional
looking one, that had a very scary face. You can
find lots of information about making a scarecrow at the
Halloween Scarecrow web site.
We begin by sending out
"Raising the Halloween Scarecrow" invitations to chosen friends and family members the week
before. We make and print the invitations ourselves.
Next, we dig a hole in the
ground in the front yard with a post hole shovel where we
want to display the scarecrow. Since we
leave this it up for the rest of the month
and want it to be really secure in the ground, we dig the post hole to a depth of two feet.
The mast is temporarily paced inside the hole, but not
filled in yet.
Then four Tiki
torches are arraigned at a safe distance around the pole,
about eight feet from the main scarecrow post hole. Many
years ago we found some really cool Tiki torches that have a Jack O' Lantern torch
canister, instead of the typical can. They are really unique and offer
a festive way to light up the night. Once they are planted
firmly in the ground, we fill them up with enough Citronella
oil to
last a couple of hours.
 In the garage, we have laid
our Halloween scarecrow on a bed of straw inside a wooden
coffin. We bought our toe-pincher coffin at the
Halloween Connection. Lastly, a length of plastic chain
is wrapped
around the coffin as though the scarecrow has been locked
inside.
We burned a
special music CD just for this occasion. Its starts with a
two minute long version of the "Funeral March" from the
Paper Magic Group - Scary Sounds CD (track #74). There is
also a midi version of the "Funeral March" at the
Halloween Music web site.
This is the perfect amount of time for us to slowly carry
the coffin to the ritual site and then tie the scarecrow to
the mast. The next track is the very gothic "Visitors in the
Night" (track #7) on the CD "Transylvania" by Nox Arcana. At
just under three minutes in length, its perfect background
music while the ritual poem is being read.
Earlier in
the day, each of us carve a pumpkin in preparation for the
ritual. You could go with just a simple Jack-O-Lantern face
or do an elaborate template carving. You'll need one for
each person attending the raising that night.
The Ceremony
At dusk, four of us
act as pallbearers, each dressed in a Grim Reaper robe. We
start a portable CD player with our special CD in it and
slowly carry the coffin from the garage
to the front yard where the Halloween Scarecrow will be raised.
Two others lift the mast out
of the hole and hold it parallel to the ground, while the
pallbearers lift the scarecrow out of the coffin and secure
it to the mast with twine. The mast is then raised up
right and put back in the post hole. Dirt and small rocks
are packed into
the hole and around the base of the mast.
The Jack O' Lanterns are placed on the ground circling the
base of the
mast pole, each with a votive candle inside. We all hold
hands forming a circle around the scarecrow and all recite the
following poem that we made up:
With the
fires all lit the bats fly above,
We've raised the
Scarecrow for all to see!
Halloween is near, the night we all love,
With the fires lit, let evil spirits flee!
Protect
us, oh Scarecrow, until Halloween night!
Such a frightening visage, you bring such fear.
We'll honor you every year with fires alight,
You'll soon be gone but be back again next year!
That ends the
ritual. Now, it's party time! We let the torches and Jack O' Lanterns burn
and we start a fire in our fire pit. We all gather around it
and roast marshmallows, make S'Mores and drink hot apple
cider. We tell stories of past Halloweens, ghost stories or
just whatever pops up. This usually goes on for a couple
hours until it's just too chilly to sit out anymore, even
with the fire going. We douse the fire pit out but we let
the torches and Jack-O-Lanterns burn. We keep an eye on them
until we are ready for bed and then someone goes out and
puts all the candles and torches out until the next night.
The Rest of October
Every night until Halloween night, one of us goes out at
dusk and lights the fires again, weather permitting, and
then we put them out just before bed. Then we just sit back and enjoy the rest of the night that
we love most, Halloween! |
