Jack of the Lantern comes to the United States

The fun and freighting faces of the Jack o' lanterns are a tradition in the United States. Hardly a home exists that does not have at least some form of this decoration near their door in October. Thanks to kits and computer programs the faces have become more creative. Some of the kits are so easy that even a toddler can decorate their own Jack o' lantern.

Jack o' lantern was not always in reference to a carved pumpkin. In fact the original carved lanterns were beets, potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, and gourds. Even before that though the term  Jack o' lantern comes from Jack of the lantern. It was in 1750 that it was first used in print, but then Jack of the lantern was used for a night watchman or someone with a lantern.

Sometimes it was used to describe the marsh lights. The marshes and bogs across Ireland and Scotland produce strange lights, most likely caused by the gasses from them. They are often described as flickering lights like in a lantern. In folk lore they are called Jack o' lanterns, will o' the wisp, or Ignis Fatuus (Gaelic for foolish fire).

Later a story about a man named Stingy Jack came about. In the story Jack is a terrible and mean man. There are several different variations of this story found all over Europe. The most common is him tricking the devil up a tree and trapping him there with crosses. He only lets the devil down once he promises to never collect his soul. The problem with this plan is he was not aloud in heaven because he is such a trickster and a drunkard. The story says that the devil gave Jack some of the fire from hell to light his way as he wandered the earth. Jack carries the fire in carved lanterns made from potatoes or gourds.

The people of Ireland would make these lanterns to scare off the evil spirits, and Jack who would play tricks on them. They would place these lanterns in their windows or by their door on October 31. The potato famine which killed many people in Ireland caused a major immigration rush to the United States in the 1800s. The people found that pumpkins were easier to carve and more avaliable than things like turnips. This soon spread across the country and became a major American tradition for the holiday. As we carve our pumpkins this year let us remember the foolish Jack who tricked the devil or the night watchman who keeps our home safe from tricks.