Who is Jack, and Why Do We Carve Jack-O-Lanterns?

The History Behind the Jack-O-Lantern

Every year on Halloween we carve Jack-O-Lanterns. I don't know about you, but I tend to carve more than one Jack-O-Lantern, because hey, I can't decide on just one creepy Halloween pumpkin carving. More recently though, I've been wondering, why the heck do we carve pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns in the first place? I mean really, who ever decided to carve out a pumpkin, stick a candle in it, and call it a Halloween jack-o-lantern. After doing a bit of Halloween pumpkin lore sleuthing, I think I found out what the jack-o-lantern tradition is all about.

The haunting myth begins in Ireland and our heroin is a cheapskate named Jack. According to the Halloween myth, Jack invited the devil to have a drink with him. Stingy as ever, Jack convinces the devil to turn into a coin so that he doesn't have to pay for the drinks. Being a man of many tricks, Jack did not pay for the drinks at all; instead he placed the coin in his pocket next to a cross, which kept the devil from returning to itself. Of course, Jack eventually let the devil go, but only unless the devil promised not to get back at him.

After Jack died, he found himself in a precarious situation. Since Jack had been of such foul demeanor, he would not be let into heaven. The devil, who had promised not to claim Jack's soul kept his side of the deal and would not let have Jack come to hell. Instead, poor Jack was sent off with only a coal to light his way. As legend has it, Jack put the coal into a hallowed out turnip as a lantern and always had it as he roamed the earth in the darkness. The Irish began to refer to Jack as "Jack of the Lantern," and then it became "Jack O'Lantern."

So they next Halloween you carve out a pumpkin, be sure to tell the myth of Stingy Jack and the legend that he became.. The legend of Jack-o-Lantern!