The true story behind the origins of halloween history. The origins of the jackolantern, ireland the fairytale traveler. In fact, the name, jacko lantern, comes from an irish folktale about a man named stingy jack. Its said that a miserable old drunk named stingy jack who liked to play tricks on his family, friends, and even the devil tricked the devil into climbing up an apple tree. The jack olantern legend goes back hundreds of years in irish history. I especially liked the snippet of history at the end not a part of the story. Once when jack was leaving hell, the devil threw him a glowing coal to light his way. The practice of decorating jackolanterns originated in ireland, where large turnips and potatoes served as early canvasses. Author katherine tegen spins a pourquoi tale based on irish folklore in this spooky halloween picturebook, which. The history of the jackolantern has roots in irish folklore. On a fateful night, the devil overheard the tale of jacks evil. Jack, who was eating a turnip at the time, placed the coal inside and used it to light his way. A story of hope during the great hunger an gorta mor, 18451850 by. The irish brought the tradition of the jack olantern to america.
These dots of light, spotted at night in the irish countryside, became known as jacklanterns. Halloween and its christian roots franciscan media. The first jack o lantern was daniel cormac of ireland, who was born to a poor farmer who was granted a magic lantern by an irish fairy. Dimensions of culture in a calendar festival in northern ireland irish literature, history, and culture santino, jack on. The tale of the jackolantern and the legend of stringy jack. The original jack olantern wasnt a pumpkin eat out eat. Jack, an irish man, grew up in a simple village where he earned a reputation for cleverness as well as laziness. It was a learning book about stay away from bad people. The terms jack o lantern, jack a lantern, or jack of the lantern, is also called willothewisp, or will of, or with, the wisp. Also a history lesson on how the jack o lantern came to be. The story of jack o lantern irish genealogy toolkit. When it comes time for jack to repay his debt, the deal doesnt quite end as he expected.
This short video relays the irish legend of stingy jack and the origins of the jack o lantern tradition. The practice originated from an irish myth about a man nicknamed. The fearful miss filia and her day of the dead escapade. Its name comes from the phenomenon of a strange light flickering over peat bogs, called willothewisp or jackolantern.
Original irish jackolanterns were truly terrifying and. Given the intended audience, katherine tegens book a creepy blend of irish folktale. An american history we have pumpkins at morning and pumpkins at noon, if it were not for pumpkins we should be. Irish children carved out turnips and potatoes to light the night on halloween. Jack was a clever man who cheated the devil several times. The following bit of halloween lore is from the pumpkin nook, an online source of info for all your pumpkin needs. In irish lore, the jacko lantern is from the story of stingy jack. Jack was forced to wander this bleak world forever, carrying a burning ember inside of a scoopedout turnip. So, the reason jack o lanterns are a halloween tradition incorporates all of this history. Since much of what is known regarding the beginnings of the jackolantern is sketchy, we have tried to provide you with the most accurate, albeit brief, account available. Later, jack became known as jack of the lantern or jack o lantern. By the time the irish finished their exodus, halloween had become a nationwide holiday. Loved this brief historymythology behind the jackolantern halloween tradition. Pumpkins with ghoulish faces and illuminated by candles are a sure sign of the halloween season.
Why we have jack o lanterns on halloween surfnetkids. A far cry from the grinning pumpkins of halloween today. Because of his trickery, jacks soul was doomed to roam in the. Abingdon square park in greenwich village hosts a halloween jack olantern contest and the little pocket park is filled with glowing pumpkins with faces of all kinds and a variety of senses of humors. Just a decade or so later, it began to be used to refer to the mysterious lights sometimes the devil did so, but jack skipped out on the bill and kept the devilcoin in his. Perhaps, the olantern name is a shout out to the irish origins of this tradition, since so many irish names begin with osomethingorother. The irish called this ghostly figure jack of the lantern or jack of the turnip which over the years has been shortened to jack o lantern. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to america, home of the pumpkin, and it became an integral. The irish called this ghostly figure jack of the lantern or jack of the turnip which over the years has been shortened to jack olantern. How irish immigrants brought the halloween tradition of carving pumpkins originally turnips to america.
This brief history of the jackolantern is based on the most popular and accepted facts and legends. Jack was known throughout the land as a deceiver, manipulator and otherwise dreg of society. When the irish came to america, they discovered the pumpkin as a larger substitute for the turnip. The story behind the jack o lantern knowledge stew. How the devil and an irish folk story created the jack o. Perhaps, the o lantern name is a shout out to the irish origins of this tradition, since so many irish names begin with o somethingorother. He received a certificate from guinness world book of records a few month later. The connection between pumpkins and this origin is unclear though, possibly relating to celtic traditions of carving turnips, or to young people using carved pumpkins for pranks and. The irish referred to the legends protagonist as jack of the lantern, which eventually became jack o lantern. According to irish folklore, a man called jack olantern was sentenced to roam the earth for eternity. A ghostly figure of the night, olantern walked with a burning coal inside of a carvedout turnip to light his way. All saints day was combined with samhain by pope gregory iii. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to america, home of the pumpkin, and it.
Ancient history of the jack o lantern nobody quite knows when people first started hollowing out vegetables to use as lamps, but the practice is at least 10,000 years old. When irish and scottish immigrants arrived in america, they were pleased to find a native fruit of north america perfect for continuing this practice. Most historians agree that carving jackolaterns was first practiced in ireland, although originally the. Thats rightit turns out the likely source material for the beloved jackolantern, the irish legend stingy jack, actually refers to a hollowedout turnip or rutabaga rather than a pumpkin. Jack o lantern helped superman find an ancient ruin in ireland, and as part of a group of heroes from ireland and england tried to save the world during the destruction of the. Jack put the coal in a hollowedout turnip to make the first jacko lantern. Joan the wad, who tickled the maid and made her mad. But as it turns out, the history of the jack o lantern can be traced back to ireland. Author katherine tegen spins a pourquoi tale based on irish folklore in this spooky halloween picture book, which explains how the custom of carving jack o lanterns came to be. The story of the jack olantern katherine tegen hardcover. So excluding lattes and rutabagas, let us turn to literature, and the six most famous literary pumpkins of all time. How jack olanterns originated in irish myth history.
I put this story in the blog last year about the irish catholic roots of jack o lantern. Many people believed this tale was the inspiration for the halloween jackolantern irish crosses are symbols of faith. Jack was part of an irish myth thought to have originated in the 17th century. Come october, pumpkins can be found everywhere in the country from doorsteps. The history of the jackolantern and how it all began. The irish began referring to him as jack of the lantern and eventually jack o lantern. And so, we now carve pumpkins instead of turnips for halloween. Although youve probably never placed the signature o in jack o lantern as tracing back to irish heritage, this story from tells the story of the origin of the pumpkincarving tradition pumpkin carving is a popular part of modern americas halloween celebration.
If you knew the sufferings of that forsaken craythur how irish immigrants brought the halloween tradition of carving pumpkins originally turnips to america. Folks began carving and placing turnips and potatoes in their windows to scare away stingy jack. It is the story of jack, a meanspirited, unpleasant, dishonest character, who never loses an opportunity to steal from others. Irish emigrants brought their many traditions to the shores of the united states in. Its simply one of the things you are supposed to do at halloween. Incidentally, irish immigrants are also responsible for bringing the jackolantern tradition into america.
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. To this day, the jackolantern for jack o the lantern, another name for stingy jack is a popular halloween icon, and the idea of stingy jack has. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to america, home of the pumpkin, and it became an integral part of halloween. The jackolantern is one of the most cherished halloween traditions. Jack o lantern not too far from traditional catholic. Jack olantern legend goes back hundreds of years in irish history. Young readers will learn a good lesson while learning a new halloween myth. The roaming figure became known as jack of the lantern, which later became jack o lantern. On a fateful night, the devil overheard the tale of jacks evil deeds and. The story of the jack olantern download pdf gibert et. Based loosely on the ancient irish legend of jack who was too bad for heaven and too wicked for hell. The history of the jack o lantern is really a combination of several different traditions and myths.
Cormac was a member of the global guardians, the international group of superheroes. And like many holiday traditions, not many people know exactly where it came from. The story goes that the jackolantern comes from a legend that goes back hundreds of years in irish history. The story of the jack olantern by katherine tegen goodreads. As the story goes, stingy jack was a miserable, old drunk who liked to play tricks on everyone. Some think the irish immigrants took the jackolantern tradition to the united states where turnips gave way to the now. The story of jack o lantern the origin of the pumpkin jack o lantern is found in celtic ireland and has always been wrapped up in halloween, a festival known in the irish language as samhain. The jack o lantern is one of the most cherished halloween traditions. History of the jack olantern and irish tale of stingy. With vibrant and dazzling illustrations from brandon dorman, the story of the jack olantern answers one of the mysteries of that spooky. The oldest tradition goes back to a celtic new yearfestival and the newest goes back just a couple of hundred years to when farmers carved pumpkins as a part of the harvest. Jack of the lantern by kelly hashway did you know that before people began carving pumpkins to make jack o lanterns, they used to carve other things like potatoes, turnips, and beets. As the story goes, several centuries ago amongst the myriad of towns and villages in ireland, there lived a drunkard known as jack the smith. And so, lets explore the history and origins of this family tradition, and learn why pumpkin carving is primarily a halloween tradition.
Jack put the coal into a carvedout turnip and has been roaming the earth with ever since. Dimensions of culture in a calendar festival in northern ireland irish literature, history. In fact, the name, jackolantern, comes from an irish folktale about a man named stingy jack. The story of the jack olantern tegen, katherine, dorman, brandon on. Irish immigrants brought the tradition of carving pumpkins into jack olanterns to america. With ye auld traditions migrating to america, some sacrifices were made and the traditions changed with the times, as soon enough the turnip was traded for the pumpkin and the rest is history. And the eerie light seen over the bogs was supposed to be jack with his flickering lantern jack with the lantern or jackolantern. The irish brought the tradition of carving pumpkins into jack olantern to america. The jack olantern stems from a legend that goes back hundreds of years in irish history. Stingy jack was a miserable old drunk who took pleasure in playing tricks on just about everyone. Since that day, he has traveled the world over with his jackolantern in search of a place to rest. Jack o lantern has referred to carved pumpkin lanterns since the 19th century, but earlier than that the term was used to refer to night watchmen using a generic or unspecified name such as jack. A jackolantern or jack olantern is a carved pumpkin, turnip, or other root vegetable lantern associated with halloween. Irish immigrants in the us carried on the traditions of their homeland but used pumpkins instead of turnips which are much easier to carve.
Hence the name, jack of the lantern or as we call it today, jackolantern. Katherine tegen weaves together legend and tradition to tell the story of one of halloweens most popular icons. How irish immigrants brought the halloween tradition of carving. It all began with an old irish folklore about a man called stingy jack who played tricks on everyone. His uncle tells the tale of jackothelantern, showing his pity for this cursed. The people of ireland and scotland began to make their own jack o lanterns to scare away stingy jack and other entities that may have been wandering around. Jack put that piece of coal in a turnip and has been roaming ever since. But as it turns out, the history of the jackolantern can be traced back to ireland. If you are looking for a book featuring halloween lore to read with your child this halloween, i recommend giving the story of the jack o lantern by katherine tegen with illustrations by brandon dorman.
The origin of the pumpkin jack o lantern is found in celtic ireland and has always been wrapped up in halloween, a festival known in the irish language as samhain. In other words, jack could never find his soul that was located within him the whole time. This festival marked the end of the celtic year and was a night when the departed returned to their former homes, and other vengeful spirits and bad. The story of the jack o lantern irish genealogy toolkit.