A light for the holidays

According to Pumpkin Nook, “the internet’s pumpkin authority,” the tradition of carving jack-o’-lanterns for Halloween arose from the Irish legend of Stingy Jack. (According to other sources, their origin is similar to that of will-o’-wisps.) Different forms of the story exist, but the common tale goes as follows:

One day, Jack, a blacksmith, “invited the devil to join him for a drink.” Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for the tab, and convinced the devil to turn himself into a coin. Alternatively, Jack the blacksmith had just stolen from some villagers and then met the devil, “who claimed it was time for him to die”; at this, Jack convinced the devil to turn into a coin to pay for the goods, but then disappeared in order to trick the villagers. However, Jack had hidden a cross in his pocket, which trapped the devil-coin once he put him in his wallet. Jack at last agreed to let the devil go only if he refused to take his soul once he died.

Later, Jack — who “took pleasure in playing tricks on just about everyone” — tricked the devil into climbing up an apple tree. While he was there, Jack quickly put crosses all around the trunk, which again trapped the devil in the tree. Stingy Jack again made the devil promise not to take his soul when he died, and only then removed the crosses.

When Jack died, Saint Peter refused him entry into Heaven for being “mean and cruel,” and leading “a miserable, worthless life on earth.” Jack then tried Hell, but the devil was keeping his promise and likewise refused entry. Jack now had nowhere to go, and “asked the devil how he could leave, as there was no light.” The devil then “tossed him an ember from the flames of hell,” and Jack, as usual, had a turnip with him — his favorite food. He carved out the turnip and placed the ember inside, and began to roam the earth forever.

A traditional Irish Jack-o’-Lantern in the Museum of Country Life, Ireland. (x)

Gourds were one of the earliest plant species domesticated by humans c. 10,000 years ago, and carving vegetables “has been a common practice in many parts of the world.” In 1835, the Dublin Penny Journal “carried a lengthy discourse on the legend” of the jack-o’-lantern, which starts on page 229 of this archive. To this day, many keep the tradition of carving pumpkins for the holiday, found by Irish immigrants to the U.S. to be easier to hollow out and carve than turnips. The lanterns were purported to keep away Stingy Jack and evil spirits.

In lieu of my own jack-o’-lanterns, here are some pumpkins:

— Lora