Carved Pumpkin or Jack-o-lantern is the most popular of all Halloween emblems.
Halloween has always been associated with wearing scary costumes and masks,
sharing ghost stories, throwing spooky parties, giving your guests a good
fright, trick-or-treating and pumpkin carving for as long as it has been around.
However, it originated from an ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which was
celebrated from sunset on October 31st to sunset on November 1st, to honor the
deceased relatives and friends. It was believed that the veil between this world
and the other world was at its thinnest on this night and thus, it was
considered the most magical night of the year.
The ‘magic’ element of Samhain night has filtered down to the present, along
with the tradition of glowing jack-o-lanterns that were originally carved from
turnips, pears or gourds. Burning lumps of coal were usually placed inside these
jack-o-lanterns. Thereafter, they were set on porches and in windows, to welcome
the spirits of loved ones and guide their way. They were believed to protect
people from evil and malevolent spirits. With time, the coal was replaced by lit
candles. When Europeans, especially those from Ireland, arrived in America, they
came across indigenous pumpkins, which were much larger and easier to carve.
Thus, they were substituted for making Jack-o-lanterns. By late 1800s, Halloween
and pumpkin carving became popular with Americans too.
Legend of Stingy Jack
The legend of Jack O' Lantern goes back to hundreds of years in the Irish
history. The original Jack O' Lantern was not a pumpkin, but a miserable, old
drunkard who played tricks on anyone he could lay his hands on, including
family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself. As the story goes, one
fine day, he tricked the Devil to climb up an apple tree. Once the devil reached
up the tree, Stingy Jack placed crosses around the tree, so that the Devil was
unable to come down. Only when Jack took a promise from the Devil that his soul
would not be taken away when he dies, he allowed the Devil to come down.
After many years, when Jack finally died, he went to the bejeweled gates of
heaven, where Saint Peter told him that he was mean and cruel and led a
worthless life on earth. Jack reached hell, as he was not allowed to enter
heaven. The Devil also kept his promise and didn’t allow Jack to enter hell.
Jack was scared that he would have to keep wandering in the unending darkness
between heaven and hell, since he was not welcome anywhere. Jack asked the devil
where to find his way in the darkness. The Devil tossed an ember from the flames
of the hell to help Jack light his way. Jack kept the ember safely in a hollowed
out turnip, his favorite food. From that day onwards, Stingy Jack roamed around
on the earth without any place to rest, with his lit Jack-O' Lantern.
The Irish people kept the fable of Stingy Jack alive by hollowing out turnips,
rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets on All Hallow's Eve. They placed a candle
in them, to ward off the evil spirits and keep the Stingy Jack away. These were
the original Jack-O-Lanterns. But later on, the Irish migrants discovered that
pumpkins were much easier to carve than turnips etc. and switched over to
pumpkin-carving. The modern day Halloween celebrations have improvised pumpkin
carving beautifully. Pumpkin-carving activities are perused with great
enthusiasm on Halloween and people of all age participate in it with keen
interest and eagerness.
|
|
