The Story Behind the Jack-O’-Lantern
Carving up a pumpkin is almost a prerequisite to having a proper Halloween, but when those pumpkins are all done and fit with a light, why are they called jack o’ lanterns, and who is Jack?
Halloween originated in Ireland hundreds of years ago and came from a Celtic festival for the dead called “Samhain.” Turnips and potatoes were used as the first jack-o’-lanterns, but that changed when Irish immigrants brought the practice to America. Jack-o’-lanterns were then made from the plentiful pumpkin supply.
The jack-o’-lantern itself originated from a myth about a man named “Stingy Jack.” Stingy Jack invited the Devil for drinks one day, and Jack didn’t want to pay for their drinks, hence the name Stingy Jack. He somehow convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin so Jack could buy their drinks. Being that Jack was indeed stingy, he decided to keep the coin for himself and put the coin in his pocket next to a silver cross. The Devil wasn’t able to transform back to his original form because he was next to the silver cross. Jack let the Devil go after some time and agreed to do so only if the Devil didn’t bother him for a full year and that he wouldn’t take his soul if he died.
