Essay On Jack-O-Lantern

The halloween tradition of carving Jack-o-Lanterns has many examples of how it evolved into the tradition it is today. For example, carving Jack-o-Lanterns originated from an Irish folktale of a man known as Stingy Jack. According to History of the Jack o’ Lantern, the myth began in Ireland, where a mischievous man, Stingy Jack, tricked the Devil twice into agreeing to not accept Jack into Hell if he died in a ten year span. Although, Stingy Jack did die during those ten years, but God would not accept him into heaven due to his immoral acts he played on the Devil. However, the Devil, true to his word, did not accept Jack into Hell. Instead, he sent Stingy Jack’s soul into the night with a burning coal light. Jack then put the light into a carved turnip and carried it with him
Furthermore, Jack-o-Lanterns were later carved into pumpkins because of the native fruits in North America. Kayla Hertz stated in her article, Original Irish Jack-o-Lanterns Were Truly Terrifying and Made of Turnips, “When the Irish and Scots emigrated to America, bringing the tradition along, they found that pumpkins, native to America, made perfect fruits for carving. Pumpkin Jack-o-Lanterns have been an integral part of Halloween festivities ever since.” This shows that the original Jack-o-Lantern has changed to fit into the natural resources of different lands to specifically pass on the tradition. Also, Jack-o-Lanterns were used as guides for people roaming the streets dressed in a costume on a Gaelic event called Samhain. Hertz also described in her article, “Once this became a Halloween tradition, Jack-o-Lanterns were used as guides for people dressed in costume on Samhain (Oct 31 – Nov 1), a traditional Gaelic version of Halloween, seen as a night when the divide between the worlds of the living and the dead is especially thin.” This supports that this tradition has evolved because carved Jack-o-Lanterns have been set on porches by doors throughout different