Meatless Mondays

I have never considered going vegan or vegetarian. I need protein in my diet. However, becoming a part-time vegetarian is something I can do.

Being a vegetarian, even part time, is healthy. Not only for yourself, but for the environment. Industrial meat is responsible for a large amount of greenhouse emissions. The processing of the meat is not the only part of this. There's the farm equipment that harvests the food that feeds the cows. The cows themselves create greenhouse emissions while alive.

There is also an economical factor in Meatless Monday. Meat is expensive, whether you buy it in a store or raise it yourself. Fruits and vegetables, not so much (depending on the season and the produce itself). You could save money by skipping meat for a day.

Feel free to join me, and others, in Meatless Monday.

Tantalus

Tantalus was first known for being a mortal guest on Olympus. It is said that he stole ambrosia and nectar, with the idea to bring it back to his people. He also revealed secrest of the Gods to his people. What he's most famous for, however, is a sacrifice he performed.

Tantalus sacrificed his own son, Pelops. He cut up the boy, boiled him, and served him up in a banquet for the Gods. Most of the Gods weren't fooled however, and did not touch the offering. Only Demeter ate the "food", not paying attention to what was going on around her because of the loss of Persephone.

Zeus ordered Clotho, one of the three Fates, to bring the boy back to life. Clotho collected all the parts of the body and boiled them in a sacred cauldron. The missing shoulder was built out of ivory by Hephaestus, and given to Clotho by Demeter. Rhea gave Pelops the breath of life while Pan danced in joy. Pelops emerged with beauty that rivaled the Gods. Poseidon instantly fell in love with the boy, and took him to Olympus in a chariot drawn by golden horses. Pelops became Poseidon's cup-bearer and attendant whenever the sea God visited the palace on Olympus. Later Pelops returned to the world of mortals, and had misadventures of his own.

Tantalus had also committed a third crime, perjury. A golden dog given to Rhea so she had help watching over the infant Zeus (it was said that Hephaestus made the dog, but that doesn't make sense being that Hephaestus is supposed to be the son of Hera). Once it was no longer needed to guard Zeus, the dog was placed in Zeus' temple at Dicte. It was here that the dog was stolen. Eventually Tantalus came into possession of it. When Hermes asked Tantalus about the dog, Tantalus swore an oath by Zeus that he knew nothing about it. Hermes exposed the lie, and discovered the thief.

The Greeks were horrified by what Tantalus had done. Cannibalism, human sacrifice and infanticide were atrocities and as taboo as they are in our society today. Hades' punishment for Tantalus' crimes was to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches. Whenever he reached for food, the branches moved out of his reach. When he tried to drink, the water receded before he could get a drop. There was also a threatening boulder placed over his head, in punishment for the act of perjury. He was one of the few that received eternal punishment, with no chance to go to the Asphodel Meadows.

Jack O'Lanterns

The term "Jack O'Lantern" originally meant one of two things. A night watchman (who held a lantern to see by) or "will o' the wisp", which are mysterious flickering lights sometimes seen at night over wetlands.

Another meaning comes in the form of a myth. An Irish man named "Stingy Jack" invited the Devil to a drink. Stingy Jack didn't want to pay, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin so they could pay. Once the Devil had complied, Jack decided to keep the money and put it next to a silver cross, preventing the Devil from changing back. Jack eventually freed the Devil, with the condition that the Devil would not bother him for a year and that the Devil could not claim his soul if Jack died before then.

The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil. This time the Devil climbed a tree to pick a fruit. While the Devil was climbing, Jack carved a sign of the Cross into the bark. The Devil was forced to make another deal. This time, he promised not to bother Jack for ten more years.

Jack died soon after that. According to legend, God would not allow him into Heaven. The Devil, upset by the tricks, kept his word and would not allow Jack into Hell. He sent Jack off into the night with only a burning coal for light. Jack put the coal into a carved out turnip, and began roaming the Earth with it ever since. The Irish began referring to him as "Jack of the Lantern", and later shortened it to "Jack O'Lantern."

In Ireland and Scotland, people began making their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other malicious spirits. The English used beets instead of turnips and potatoes. Immigrants from these countries brought the Jack O'Lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States and quickly discovered pumpkins made perfect Jack O'Lanterns.