![]() Jack placed the coal into a carved-out turnip and carried it as his lantern roaming the. Regardless, it’s a custom that has (largely) disappeared.īut this year, I decided to give it a whirl. The Irish folklore of turnip carving as Jack-O’-Lanterns originates from a story about a man named Jack (also known as Stingy Jack) who tricked the devil and was cursed to roam the earth in eternal night with only a burning coal as his light. When immigrants brought over their carving tradition, Americans began carving jack-o’-lanterns from pumpkins. That’s because Ireland didn’t have pumpkins. I have no idea who widespread it ever got, but there are good references to the practice, including a note in The Evening Telegram in 1908 indicates there was turnip scooping at a Halloween party. Ancient Celtic cultures were known to carve turnips and place embers inside to ward off evil spirits. Photographed at the Museum of Country Life, Ireland. A design, usually either a cheerful or a monstrous face is carved on the front of the vegetable. English: A traditional Irish turnip Jack-o'-lantern from the early 20th century. The practice made its way to Newfoundland and was part of Halloween tradition. A Jack-o-lantern (also Jack-o-lantern or Jack OLanterns Pumpkins) is a decoration made from a hollowed out vegetable, nowadays usually a pumpkin, holding a candle or a similar light source. The original Jack o’Lanterns were carved from turnips and other root vegetables. ![]() Instead he gave Jack a glowing coal inside a hollowed-out turnip and sentenced him to wander the earth - Jack of the Lantern Jacky Lantern in parts of Newfoundland, a phantom light. The devil, who was still angry at being cheated, refused to let Jack enter hell. When he died, God decided he didn’t want Jack soul either. True to his name, Stingy Jack didnât want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil. According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed âStingy Jack.â. Phantom lights, by way of a folktale, are the likely source of the Jack o’Lantern tradition.Īccording to an Irish folktale Stingy Jack cheated the devil and made him promise to to take his soul. People have been making jack-oâ-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. I don’t know that the weather light brought doom exactly, but it did foretell of storms. As the Will-o’ the-Wisp was frequently seen over bogs, their doom was often sinking into a bog hole. I suppose it is a variant of the local Jacky Lantern (or European Will-o’ the-Wisp) - a phantom light that leads people to their doom.
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