We all know jack-o’-lanterns are synonymous with Halloween. When I was a kid, my family carved pumpkins each October and we proudly placed our gruesome faced creations on our front steps for all trick-or-treaters to see. My mom was the one responsible for lighting the tea lights inside each pumpkin to provide our jack-o’-lanterns with the necessary eerie, flickering internal glow.

Jack-o’-lanterns and their flickering light stem back from some very old Irish folklore*. It starts with will-o’-the-wisp, the term used to describe the ghostly light that’s seen on peat bog (marsh and swamp, too) which has long been associated with Halloween. And from this spooky light comes jack-o’-lanterns whose name is taken from the ghostly light.

You see, both jack-o’-lantern and will-o’-the-wisp are terms present in Irish folklore. (Similar terms appear in other cultures’ tales from the past too.) The Irish version tells the story of Stingy Jack, a drunkard who lived a nefarious life and managed to trick the Devil not once but twice. When Jack was first faced with the Devil, he sneakily managed to avoid the Devil taking his soul and bought himself ten more years of his wretched life. The second time around Jack persuaded the Devil to promise there would never be a place in hell for him. However, when Jack finally died, St. Peter wouldn’t let him into heaven either! Instead, Jack was left to roam the world for all eternity between good and evil as a lost soul. The Devil gave Jack an never-ending ember from hell which Jack placed it in a hollowed out turnip to light his way. From there, Jack became known as “Jack of the Lantern” or Jack-o’-Lantern.**

Interestingly, there is a long history of carving lanterns out of vegetables in the UK and Ireland. However, it was the Americans who carved pumpkin lanterns first.  The carved pumpkin was actually initially seen as an symbol of the harvest and later became synonymous with Halloween.

I don’t know about you but when I carve a pumpkin in a few weeks time (seriously, I still really enjoy doing this), I’m going to look at it a bit differently this time around. And maybe I’ll even dress up as Stingy Jack this year.

*The ghostly flickering light is seen in other cultures too.
**There are many variations of the tale. The version here includes that parts I found most common.

Source; Source; Image Source

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1. The Irish Flag & The Union Jack
2. Bobbing For Apples With The Celts
3. Origins of the Irish Dance Costume
4. The Oldest Stories In Ireland