AniAsia – What is Jack O’ Lantern? Its Origin History and Story:
The term Jack O’ Lantern was a name for night watchmen carrying a lantern in England in the 1600s. By the 1800s, it had become “a carved pumpkin used as a lantern”, which may have evolved from ancient rituals using a lantern, spirits carrying a lantern in folk tales, or young pranks—those who carve scary faces into pumpkins.
Every October, thousands of Americans flesh out a pumpkin, carefully carve a ghostly face into its peel, and light a candle inside. Pumpkins are so popular around Halloween that 26 October is National Pumpkin Day.
The festival of Halloween is celebrated on 31 October; At this time, there are vast and abundant pumpkins in America. Therefore, there it is associated with the cultivation of pumpkins. Cut them easily.
The pumpkin is cut from one side to form a mouth shape, and then a burning candle is placed in the center of that pumpkin. Now it is kept on the house doorstep in the dark of night in memory of the old times. Jack O Lantern says.
The story behind Jack O’ Lantern
Lighting lanterns is a popular tradition on Halloween Day. The Irish folk tale Stingy Jack and the Devil is believed to be behind this. Irish-born miserly alcoholic Jack brought an evil friend home to drink, but he didn’t want to spend his money. He persuaded his friend to give him pumpkin in exchange for the wine. But later, Jack retracted his words. His friend became enraged, and in anger, he made a scary lantern of pumpkin and hung it on a tree outside the house, on which he carved his face and threw the burning coals. From that day, the practice of jack-o’-lantern began as a lesson for other people. The Jack O Lantern is a symbol of showing the way to the souls of their ancestors and protecting them from evil spirits.