Nothing quite says October like the return of seasonal pumpkin spice lattes, glowing jack-o-lanterns, fake spiders in shop windows, and horror movies topping Netflix’s suggestion list.
However, behind the familiar sight of carved pumpkins lies a deeper, lesser-known history that stretches back centuries.
Before pumpkins became the iconic symbol of Halloween, could it be that the original jack-o-lanterns were actually carved from turnips, beets, and potatoes?
VERDICT:
TRUE
The tradition of carving jack-o-lanterns dates back centuries, with roots in Old World customs from Ireland, England, and Scotland.
The practice of using round vegetables or fruits to create human faces stretches back thousands of years in northern European Celtic cultures, as explained by National Geographic.
The custom gained importance during Samhain, an ancient Celtic celebration held on November 1 that eventually inspired the practices of the modern-day holiday of Halloween.
On the eve of Samhain, October 31, it was believed that spirits of the dead roamed among the living.
To protect themselves from these wandering souls, people would dress in costumes and carve eerie faces into root vegetables such as beets, potatoes, and turnips, which were plentiful after the autumn harvest.
The carved faces served a dual purpose: warding off malevolent spirits and providing a practical, low-cost lantern.
According to Nathan Mannion, senior curator at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin, metal lanterns were expensive, so hollowing out root vegetables became a clever solution.
Over the years, people began carving intricate designs, allowing light to filter through the holes while keeping the ember lit inside.
As said by History.com, in Ireland and Scotland, it became common to carve frightening faces into turnips, placing them in windows or by doorways to scare away Stingy Jack, a folklore figure, and other malicious spirits. In England, large beets were used for the same purpose.
Regis University Highlander recounts that the legend of Stingy Jack comes from Irish folklore and tells the story of a devious man who tricked the Devil multiple times to avoid losing his soul.
However, when Jack eventually died, neither Heaven nor Hell would accept him. As punishment, the Devil gave Jack a burning coal to light his way as he wandered the earth for eternity.
Jack placed the coal inside a hollowed-out turnip, creating the first "jack-o-lantern."
When immigrants from European regions settled in the United States, they brought this vegetable-carving tradition with them.
Gradually, the practice of pumpkin carving transitioned from a Celtic cultural tradition into a staple Halloween activity.
Although the story of jack-o-lanterns is steeped in dark folklore, one clear takeaway is their role as protective symbols.
These lanterns have long been used to ward off evil spirits, standing as a safeguard during the haunting night of Halloween.
REFERENCES:
https://www.history.com/news/
https://ruhighlander.org/home/
https://carnegiemnh.org/the-
