Halloween celebrations are incomplete if you do not take time to carve your Jack O'Lantern. While many of us painstaking carve our pumpkins, we have no clue about its history.
It is believed that the tradition of carving pumpkins with amusing and scary faces began when Irish immigrants landed in America. The Irish used to turnips in Ireland, but on reaching America, they opted for a cheaper vegetable, the orange squash. Also, it is believed that turnips were not that easily available during those days in the US.
According to legends and myths, the Irish practice of carving turnips began way back in the 1700s. It is believed that a man named Drunk Jack, one day, met a very special guest in his local pub. This guest was none other than Satan. However, Satan was not considered to be good drinking buddy as he used to get his companions to pay the large pub bill and often take their souls. The day Jack met Satan was on Halloween night.
Irish are known even today for their drinking abilities. So, Jack although a heavy drinker did not lose his wits in presence of Satan. Instead, he offered a deal to him. He told Satan that if he would pay for the drinks, then Jack would be willing to give his soul to Satan in return. Pleased by the deal, Satan took up the offer. However, instead of paying for the drinks, Satan turned himself into a coin. On seeing this Jack grabbed the coin and pushed it into his money purse which also contained a silver crucifix. This led to Satan getting imprisoned in the purse. However, Satan wanted to get out, so he made a deal with Jack. He promised that Jack could spend another 10 years of his life on Earth before Satan returned to take his soul.
When the 10 years came to an end, Satan came to take Jack's soul. Jack pretended that he was all set to accompany Satan to Hell. However, he asked Satan to give pluck an apple from the apple tree. Satan climbed the tree and then Jack carved a crucifix on the tree, once again trapping Satan. This time, Jack asked Satan to release his soul in exchange for freedom. And, Satan had to agree.
When Jack finally died, he made his way to the Pearly Gates, but was denied entry into Heaven because of his alcoholism and other bad misdeeds. As a result, Jack was sent to Hell. But even in Hell, Satan refused entry to Jack, damning his soul forever. However, Satan felt sorry for Jack and gave him an ember taken from the fires of Hell. Jack put the ember into a carved turnip to light the way through eternal darkness as his soul stayed suspended between Heaven and Hell.
The Irish believed on Halloween night Jack and other damned souls like him come to visit people. Hence, to ward off these damned souls, they began carving turnips and lighting a candle in them.
When the Irish came to America, they found it difficult to get turnips, so they began using pumpkins. Slowly, the practice of placing carved pumpkins spread across the country and now Jack O'Lantern is a normal fixture and decoration on Halloween night.
About Author:
Kum Martin is an online leading expert in history and education. He also offers top quality articles like:
Why Celebrate Halloween, History Behind Halloween
No comments:
Post a Comment