![]() The Irish began to refer to this spooky figure as “Jack of the Lantern,” which then became “Jack O’Lantern.” He was instead sent into the eternal night, with a burning coal inside a carved-out turnip to light his way. When Jack died, God wouldn’t allow him into heaven and the devil wouldn’t allow him into hell. When he was up in the tree, Jack carved a cross into the trunk so the devil couldn’t come down until he swore he wouldn’t bother Stingy Jack for another ten years. The next year, Jack tricked the devil once more by convincing him to climb up a tree to fetch a piece of fruit. Jack eventually freed the devil under the condition that he wouldn’t bother Jack for one year, and wouldn’t claim Jack’s soul once he died. When the devil obliged, Jack decided he wanted the coin for other purposes and kept it in his pocket alongside a small, silver cross to prevent it from turning back into the devil. A ghostly figure of the night, O’Lantern walks with a burning coal inside of a carved-out turnip to light his way.Īs the tale goes, a man called Stingy Jack invited the devil for a drink and convinced him to shape-shift into a coin to pay with. Maoris began carving them for lanterns 700 years ago – the Maori word for “gourd” and “lampshade” are actually the same.Īccording to Irish folklore, a man called Jack O’Lantern was sentenced to roam the earth for eternity. Gourds were one of the earliest plant species, domesticated by humans around 10,000 years ago, mostly cultivated for their carving potential – for kitchen tools, dishes, musical instruments, toys, furniture and more. ![]() Donegal (it now resides at the Irish Museum of Country Life) /bSnnqSBJBm It dates from 1903 and was carved at Baile na Finne, Co. Pumpkins eh? here's proper scary, a traditional Irish Jack-O-Lantern made from a turnip. ![]() They were carved from turnips or beets rather than festive orange pumpkins and were intended to ward off unwanted visitors. The Jack-O-Lantern story comes from Irish folklore and the original was a far cry from the cute friendly Halloween decoration we know today!Ī far cry from the grinning pumpkins of Halloween today, the original folklore version of Jack-o-Lanterns, named for Jack O’Lantern of the Irish myth, were actually quite terrifying. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |