Jack-o’-lanterns have a long history with Halloween, but our favorite devil faces aren’t always carved out of pumpkins. They’re for personal financial gain. After Jack died, God wouldn’t let him go to heaven, and the devil wouldn’t let him go to hell, so Jack was doomed to spend eternity on earth.
In Ireland, people began carving ghostly faces out of turnips to scare away Jack’s wandering spirit. When Irish immigrants moved to the United States, they began carving jack-o’-lanterns because pumpkins were available in the area.
Halloween has its roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain, an ancient English and Irish celebration celebrating the end of summer and the beginning of the new year on November 1. It is believed that on Samhain the souls of those who died that year will go to the afterlife, while other souls will return to visit their homes.
It is a day of celebration for the church’s believers that lasts until November 1. The folklore about Stingy Jack quickly became incorporated into Halloween, and we have been carving pumpkins or turnips ever since.
