The Jack-o-lantern tradition started in Ireland several hundred years ago. As the story goes, there was a character named Jack or Stingy Jack as he was called. Stingy Jack was a thief and a drunk who like to torment people by playing malicious tricks on everyone. Tis said, Jack even tricked the devil into promising that he would not take his soul when he died. However, when Jack did pass on, he was denied entrance to heaven because of the mean tricks he had played and since the devil wouldn't take him either, he was trapped in the void in between.
The devil commanded Jack to leave his gates and tossed an ember from
the fire at the spirit to light his way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed out turnip (his favorite food when he was alive) and begin to wander the earth looking for a resting place. With the lantern held in front of him he became known as Jack of the Lantern. After that on all Hallow's eve, the Irish would carve out turnips and place a candle inside to ward off evil spirits. When the Irish came to the US they brought the tradition with them. However, pumpkins were easier to come by than turnips and much easier to carve. Happy Pumpkins to you!this post was contributed by Dsandra
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