Every year, Reveler Barry Galef brings us a special treat: One of his carved pumpkins. These aren’t the jack-o-lanterns you’re used to, with the triangles for eyes and the half-moon for a mouth. He treats the pumpkin as a work of art, carving a detailed scene into their orange skin.
The pumpkin always relates to the theme of the Christmas Revels. We had a flying canoe for the French Canadian show in 2008 and Henry VIII for 2007’s Elizabethan show. (Hey, he was Elizabeth’s dad.) So during the break in tonight’s rehearsal, we all filed upstairs to the mezzanine to ooh and ahh over this year’s offering.
The main pumpkin this year has the tale of Saint Margaret and the Tarasque. The Tarasque is a sort of dragon-like creature with lots of legs. It makes an appearance this year in the Christmas Revels, as the monster in the mummers play. In the story, the Tarasque ravages the town of Nerluc, in Provence, and sets it on fire.
A young woman goes out with a jug of holy water, tames the Tarasque, and brings it back to show everyone how calm it is. But the angry townspeople kill it anyway. In remorse, they name their town “Tarascon.”
You can see some more of Barry’s pumpkins on his website.
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Thank you for the pumpkin pics! Not the same as seeing them in person, but better than nothing. Now I don’t feel quite so out of the loop. 🙂
Yay for feeling in the loop!
Ah, I’d gotten to see it, but alas this year I’ve not been around as much I usually am as a volunteer to hear the tale behind the pumpkin. Thanks for posting this! 🙂
I actually missed the tale, too – I read it when Barry posted the photos on facebook.
I think that’s the cutest tarrasque I’ve ever seen.
That’s because you haven’t seen my knitted tarasque yet. Mwah hah hah hah hahhhh.
P.S. In D&D, they look like this: http://1d4chan.org/images/f/f5/Tarrasque.jpg
I didn’t know there was a tarrasque/tarasque in D&D! That’s so cool!