Halloween Origins
Halloween, originally called Samhain, was a Celtic festival where people would wear costumes and light bonfires to ward off ghosts. The Celts believed that on the night of the 31st of October the line between the living and dead merged so they celebrated when they believed the ghosts would return to earth. They also believed that druids (Celtic priests) would be able to predict the future and they would sacrifice crops and animals for Celtic deities in bonfires.
Stingy Jack
Jack O Lanterns originated in Ireland when they would carve large turnips and potatoes because of the myth of Stingy Jack. Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him but didn't want to pay for his drink, because of this he managed to convince the Devil to transform himself into a coin to pay for the drinks. Stingy Jack then decided to keep the money and kept it next to a silver cross which prevented the Devil from being able to transform back to his original form. Eventually Jack freed the Devil from his grasp under the condition that, once he died, he wouldn't claim his soul. Once Jack died God claimed he couldn't let such an unsavory trickster into heaven and the Devil, staying true to his word and still bitter about the trick Jack had played years earlier, wouldn't let him into hell. Jack was condemned to walk around the earth with nothing but a burning coal he put in a carved turnip. The ghostly figure then began being referred to simply as “Jack O Lantern”. People then began making imitations of Jacks lanterns and placing them by their doors and windows to scare off Stingy Jack and other ghostly figures.
Citations
“Halloween 2022.” History.com, https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween#history-of-trick-or-treating. November 18, 2009. Web. Accessed October 28, 2022.
“How Jack Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth.” History.com, https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins. October 25, 2019. Web. Accessed October 29, 2022.
Comments