Great Pumpkin Sacrifice: Difference between revisions

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'''First occurrence:''' 31 October 1973[[File:Harrison house.jpg|thumb|right|240x230px|Harrison House, (after 1962). PR; Series 1; Sub-series 4; Item 6552.]]
'''First occurrence:''' 31 October 1973[[File:Harrison house.jpg|thumb|right|240x230px|Harrison House, (after 1962). PR; Series 1; Sub-series 4; Item 6552.]]


'''Origins:''' Two members of [[Harrison House]] threw a pumpkin off the roof of the residence on Hallowe'en night.
'''Origins:''' Two members of [[Harrison_House|Harrison House]] threw a pumpkin off the roof of the residence on Hallowe'en night.


'''History:''' After modest beginnings in 1973, the ceremony accumulated such additions as clerical robes and Gregorian chants piped into the area between [[Harrison House]] and the [[Student Union Building|SUB]], as well as prayers for the harvest. The pumpkin itself is carved in the face of the two faced Roman god Janus to represent the "academic" harvest and the possibility for a good or bad crop. During the week prior to Hallowe'en, house residents mark the upcoming event with a two minute howl at midnight every night and decorate the UNB Fredericton campus with pumpkins. On October 31 the house is silent in respect of the occasion and the upcoming event. That night, the Great Pumpkin is escorted from [[Harrison House]] to the [[Lady Dunn Hall|Dunn]]/[[Tibbits Hall]]/[[Joy Kidd House|Kidd]] complex by house residents, actors, and "wise-people." The pumpkin is then blessed in the courtyard of [[Joy Kidd House]] and returned back to [[Harrison House|Harrison]], where it is carried up the roof and sacrificially dropped and exploded.
'''History:''' After modest beginnings in 1973, the ceremony accumulated such additions as clerical robes and Gregorian chants piped into the area between [[Harrison_House|Harrison House]] and the [[Student_Union_Building|SUB]], as well as prayers for the harvest. The pumpkin itself is carved in the face of the two faced Roman god Janus to represent the "academic" harvest and the possibility for a good or bad crop. During the week prior to Hallowe'en, house residents mark the upcoming event with a two minute howl at midnight every night and decorate the UNB Fredericton campus with pumpkins. On October 31 the house is silent in respect of the occasion and the upcoming event. That night, the Great Pumpkin is escorted from [[Harrison_House|Harrison House]] to the [[Lady_Dunn_Hall|Dunn]]/[[Tibbits_Hall|Tibbits Hall]]/[[Joy_Kidd_House|Kidd]] complex by house residents, actors, and "wise-people." The pumpkin is then blessed in the courtyard of [[Joy_Kidd_House|Joy Kidd House]] and returned back to [[Harrison_House|Harrison]], where it is carried up the roof and sacrificially dropped and subsequently explodes.


'''Source(s):'''
'''Source(s):'''
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{{Copyright}}
{{Copyright}}
[[Category:Student Escapades|Great Pumpkin]][[Category:Residences]]
[[Category:Student Escapades]]

Latest revision as of 14:19, 14 January 2016

First occurrence: 31 October 1973

Harrison House, (after 1962). PR; Series 1; Sub-series 4; Item 6552.

Origins: Two members of Harrison House threw a pumpkin off the roof of the residence on Hallowe'en night.

History: After modest beginnings in 1973, the ceremony accumulated such additions as clerical robes and Gregorian chants piped into the area between Harrison House and the SUB, as well as prayers for the harvest. The pumpkin itself is carved in the face of the two faced Roman god Janus to represent the "academic" harvest and the possibility for a good or bad crop. During the week prior to Hallowe'en, house residents mark the upcoming event with a two minute howl at midnight every night and decorate the UNB Fredericton campus with pumpkins. On October 31 the house is silent in respect of the occasion and the upcoming event. That night, the Great Pumpkin is escorted from Harrison House to the Dunn/Tibbits Hall/Kidd complex by house residents, actors, and "wise-people." The pumpkin is then blessed in the courtyard of Joy Kidd House and returned back to Harrison, where it is carried up the roof and sacrificially dropped and subsequently explodes.

Source(s):

  • UA Case 128; Section 2; File 10.


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