POPULAR HALLOWEEN TRADITIONS: JACK O’LANTERN

The Jack O’Lantern tradition comes from the myth of Stingy Jack.

Stingy Jack put the coin in his pocket next to a silver cross because it prevented the Devil changing back into his original form.

Jack made free the Devil under the condition that he would not bother him and when he dies, the Devil won’t claim his soul.

The following year, Jack played a trick to the Devil. The Devil climbed a tree to pick up a fruit  and while he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree’s bark so the Devil couldn’t come down the tree.

Soon after, Jack died. He had to face a problem; God would not allow him into heaven but the Devil kept his promise to not claim his soul, so Jack was sent off in the dark night with just a burning coal.

The Irish people call Jack’s ghost Jack O’Lantern. They began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits.

In the United States, the vegetable became a pumpkin.