The Legend of Jack o'Latern

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You must have known that halloween is identic with the carved pumpkin, right? It's name is Jack o'Latern.

But do you know that actually there is a story behind this carved pumpkin?

jack o'lantern is a carved pumpkin, turnip, or other root vegetable lantern associated with Halloween.

It's name comes from the phenomenon of a strange light flickering over peat bogs, called will-o'-the-wisp or jack-o'-lantern.

The top of the pumpkin is cut off to form a lid, the inside flesh is scooped out, and an image—usually a scary or funny face is carved out of the rind.

To create the lantern effect, a light source, traditionally a flame such as a candle or tea light, is placed.

This name is also tied to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a drunkard who bargains with Satan and is doomed to roam the Earth with only a hollowed turnip to light his way.

Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America, and since then, became an integral part of Halloween.

Do you know who the Stingy Jack is?

Jack O'Lantern legend goes back hundreds of years in Irish History. Many of the stories, center round Stingy Jack.

Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who took pleasure in playing tricks on just about everyone: family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself.

According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him.

True to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks.

Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form.

Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul.

But in the next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit.

After the Devil climbed up the tree, Stingy Jack hurriedly placed crosses around the trunk of the tree.

Unable to touch a cross, the Devil was stuck in the tree. Stingy Jack made the Devil promise him not to take his soul when he died.

But soon after that, Jack died.

According to the story, he fooled many people, his family even the Devil. When he went to the pearly gates of Heaven and was told by Saint Peter that he was mean and cruel, Stingy Jack was not allowed to enter heaven.

He then went down to Hell and the Devil. Because The Devil was upset by his trick when he was alive and also The Devil kept his promise to not take his soul for 10 years, he was not allowed to enter Hell.

Now Jack was scared. He had nowhere to go, but to wander about forever in the dark Netherworld between heaven and hell.

He asked the Devil how he could leave, as there was no light. The Devil tossed him an ember from the flames of Hell, to help Stingy Jack light his way.

Jack had a Turnip with him. It was one of his favorite foods, and he always carried one with him.

Jack hollowed out the Turnip, and placed the ember the Devil had given him, inside the turnip.

From that day onward, Stingy Jack roamed the earth without a resting place, lighting his way as he went with his Jack of Latern or simply changed by irish as "Jack O'Lantern".

On all Hallow's eve, the Irish hollowed out Turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets. They placed a light in them to ward off evil spirits and keep Stingy Jack away.

These were the original Jack O'Lanterns. In the 1800's a couple of waves of Irish immigrants came to America.

The Irish immigrants quickly discovered that Pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve out. So they used pumpkins for Jack O'Lanterns.

Credit by: http://www.pumpkinnook.com/facts/jack.htm