The History of the Jackolantern
The Irish have made Jack O' Lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The roots of this practice originate in ancient Celtic tradition, as well as an old Irish folk tale about an unsavory character named Stingy Jack. Does this Spark an idea?
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Festival of Samhain
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The Jack O' Lantern tradition originated in pre-Christian Ireland. The ancient pagan Celtics lit a ritual bonfire each year at the festival of Samhain, which was celebrated on October 31st. The people used hollowed-out vegetables to carry home sacred embers to light their home fires.
Stingy Jack
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The term "Jack O' Lantern" was in the English language by 1663. The phrase referred to Stingy Jack, a character from a centuries-old Irish folk tale. Jack was a ghoul who wandered the earth carrying a lantern made from a carved-out turnip that was lit by an ember from the flames of Hell. The Irish called the evil spirit "Jack of the Lantern," and later, "Jack O' Lantern." People in the United Kingdom carved scary faces into root vegetables and placed them in windows to frighten Jack away.
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Significance
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Irish immigrants brought the Jack O' Lantern tradition with them to America during the mid-19th century. They had not grown pumpkins in Ireland, but the new immigrants found pumpkins were larger and easier to carve than turnips or rutabagas and made ideal Jack O' Lanterns.
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References
- Photo Credit jack-o-lantern image by Trevor Allen from Fotolia.com
