The History of Jack-O’-Lanterns
Where did we get the tradition of carving jack-o’-lanterns
for Halloween? Supposedly, the practice of decorating and carving
jack-o’-lanterns comes from the Celts who held a festival of Samhain each year
and believed Samhain was a time when supernatural beings and souls of the dead
roamed the earth. The custom arrived in America with Irish immigrants where it
became an integral part of Halloween festivities.
Where did we get the tradition of carving jack-o’-lanterns
for Halloween? Supposedly, the practice of decorating and carving
jack-o’-lanterns comes from the Celts who held a festival of Samhain each year
and believed Samhain was a time when supernatural beings and souls of the dead
roamed the earth. The custom arrived in America with Irish immigrants where it
became an integral part of Halloween festivities.
According to Irish folktale, a miserable man and drunk named
Stingy Jack enjoyed playing tricks on people, including the devil. Unable to
enter heaven or hell after his death, he was destined to roam the earth
listlessly. Jack placed a piece of coal into a carved-out, large turnip and
used it as a lantern to keep the evil spirits away. Today in America, pumpkins
are carved into jack-o-lanterns, lit, and placed outside of doorways for the
same purpose.
Find Judy Ann Davis at:
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Take a Peek at UNDER STARRY SKIES
Hired as the town’s school teacher, Maria O’Donnell and her
sister Abigail arrive in the Colorado Territory in 1875, only to find the uncle
they were to stay with has been murdered.
Rancher Tye Ashmore is content with life until he meets
quiet and beautiful Maria. He falls in love at first sight, but her reluctance
to jeopardize her teaching position by accepting his marriage proposal only
makes him more determined to make her part of his life.
When their lives are threatened by gunshots and a gunnysack
of dangerous wildlife, Tye believes he is the target of an unknown
enemy. Not until Maria receives written threats urging her to leave does
she realize she might be the target instead of the handsome rancher.
With the help of Tye, Abigail, and a wily Indian called Two
Bears, Maria works to uncover her uncle’s killer and put aside her fears.
But will she discover happiness and true love under Colorado’s starry skies? Link: UNDER STARRY SKIES
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Love the post,Judy! To think we could've been carving turnips...lol
ReplyDeleteGreat post! My email is paulnlynnjohnson06@hotmail.com Thank you for the chance. <3
ReplyDeleteHappy Halloween!!! Thank you for the history of Jack o lanterns! Thank you for participating in the Halloween hop! fantasy1997@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteHappy Halloween! The story sounds great and is going on my list to read. Thanks for the contest.
ReplyDeleteLove the story behind jack-o-lanters! Thank you for being a part of the Hop! tgarofalo@centurylink.net
ReplyDeleteWow. I love to read the history of how traditions got started. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHappy Halloween! I love carving pumpkins. They are hard for me to do though. hotchick_2004_12901@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteHappy Halloween! I love carving pumpkins and making pies. pharmnut@yahoo.com
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ReplyDeleteI love carving pumpkins with my granddaughter and then roasting the seeds. valmiller8@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteWe stopped decorating pumpkins as a kid after spending hours carving one, only to have someone smash it the day after. I don't know why--we would've had to get rid of it anyway. I think it was more, "If people are going to be rude, we're not even going to bother?" I don't know! We did do a "pumpkin carving" for my stepdaughter and our friends' kids when they were little. They lasted about 30 minutes and got bored and the adults were left to finish it all!
ReplyDeleteUnder the Starry Skies looks really interesting!
ReplyDeleteKaitismommy@gmail.com
This was a great post. We've always enjoyed carving pumpkins, but we live in a neighborhood filled with children who've been taught it's okay to smash them. It's so frustrating. michelle_willms at yahoo dot com
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