10/31/2024
The history of jack-o-lanterns begins with the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain, which began at sundown on October 31 and continued until sundown the following day—a celebration of the end of the agricultural year and the beginning of a new one. The Celts believed that on the night of Samhain the veil that separated the material world from the spiritual world was at its thinnest. On the one hand it was the time to honor loved ones who had passed on, and on the other hand it was the time malevolent spirits were the most dangerous.
To ward off the evil spirits (and perhaps to greet the friendly ones), the Celts would hollow out turnips, gourds, or potatoes, carve a face onto them, and illuminate them from inside with a burning lump of coal or a candle, placing these glowing ghoulish creations (sometimes called “ghost turnips”) on their porches or in their windows on the night of Samhain.
Irish immigrants brought the tradition with them to America. Of course, by then the pagan Samhain had been replaced by the Christian All Saints’ Day, celebrated on November 1. All Saint’s Day was also commonly called All Hallows Day, and the day before it (October 31) was called All Hallows Eve, or as we now say, “Halloween.” The Irish Americans soon discovered that pumpkins, a plentiful New World food source, were much easier to carve than turnips and were well suited for the traditional creations, especially since Washington Irving’s tale “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” had already created an association between pumpkins and spookiness.
But what about the name “jack-o-lantern”? Where did that come from?
A popular theory attributes the name to the Irish legend of a miserly drunk named “Stingy Jack.” According to the story, after selling his soul for a drink at the pub, Stingy Jack was able to trick and trap the devil, forcing him to release Jack from his bargain and making him promise never to take Jack’s soul. But when at the end of his earthly life Jack showed up at the pearly gates, he was refused admittance, due to his life of drunkenness and deceitfulness. He then went to the gates of Hell, where the devil wouldn’t let him in either, having pledged not to take his soul. So, barred from both Heaven and Hell, the soul of Stingy Jack was condemned to wander the earth, lighting his way with a hollowed-out turnip lit from inside by a burning lump of coal taken from Hell itself. An eerie light seen in the distance at night was said to be wandering Stingy Jack and his lantern, or “Jack-o-lantern.”
Of course, jack-o-lanterns have come a long way from the days when they were used to ward off evil spirits wandering around Irish bogs. Nowadays they are big business, with Americans spending over $800 million this season for pumpkins to carve at Halloween.
The photo is of a plaster-cast “ghost turnip” in the National Museum of Ireland—Country Life.
Credit to: A Daily Dose of History
