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From Creepy to Cute:
The History of the Jack-o’-Lantern
story by Victoria Snyder
When you think of a jack-o’-lantern, you probably think of carving smiling faces into pumpkins with family and friends. However, that is not how these carvings started.
What if we told you the first Jack-o’-lanterns weren’t made from pumpkins at all – but beets, potatoes, or turnips?
As one retelling of the legend goes, there once was a man known as Stingy Jack. Jack invited the devil to drink with him and convinced him to shape shift into a coin to pay. Instead, Jack kept the coin, and put it in his pocket next to a small
cross, preventing the devil from turning back. Eventually, Jack bargained with the devil that he wouldn’t bother Jack for a year and that he wouldn’t claim his soul if Jack were to die. Thus, the devil was freed.
The next year, Jack tricked the devil again, making him climb a tree for some fruit and carving a cross into the bark so the devil couldn’t leave. This time, Jack bargained for ten years of peace from the devil. Thus, the devil was freed.
Jack died soon thereafter. The devil had agreed not to claim Jack’s soul, but God would not allow him into heaven due to
his tricks. The devil then gave Jack an ember of coal to light a hollowed-out turnip, allowing him to light his way as he wanders
the Earth for eternity.
He was known as Jack of the lantern, and that eventually
evolved into jack-o’-lantern.
It is believed that this legend is why people in European Celtic
cultures began carving scary faces into root vegetables – they wished to ward off evil and unwanted spirits like Stingy Jack.
As these lanterns became ingrained in society, they were reportedly brought to the United States by Irish, Scottish, and English immigrants. With access to pumpkins for the first time, these European carvers found that these larger, easier to carve gourds made for the perfect jack-o’-lantern. Now, millions of pounds of pumpkins are harvested each year for our enjoyment.
The next time you appreciate the splendor of the jack-o’- lanterns in your neighborhood, remember that behind their beauty lies a long, and often dark, history from across the pond.
150 | October 2021 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living