"i dream of jack o'lanterns...driving by these bat night skies...haunted by their lighted grins...i close my eyes, somethings reaching in"
a little history lesson: ever look at your freshly carved pumpkin and say "i wonder where this tradition started?". well, i did the research so you don't have to...
first came the story of "stingy jack" (please listen to my tale with a thick irish brogue...k?). stingy jack was an irishman who was very, shall we say, cheap. so one day, jack's strolling down the road and bumps into the devil. jack says "devil! have a pint with me!!" and the devil says sure. but jack has no money. he convinces the devil to turn himself into a coin to pay for the pints. remember how his name is STINGY jack? he decides to pocket the coin and skip out on the bill. the coin is next to a cross, so the devil is trapped, until jack says "devil. i'll let ya go if ya let me be for 1 year and spare me soul if i die" and the devil agreed. so, the next year, the devil's back. jack says "devil, i sure would love a taste of fruit before me punishment." so the devil agreed to climb a tree and get him the fruit. jack quickly carved the sign of the cross into the tree, trapping the devil. "devil. i'll let ya down but ya must agree to let me be for 10 more years and spare me soul if i die" and the devil agreed. jack soon died. god refused to let him into heaven...i mean, would you let a trickster like that into heaven?...and the devil, still mad about the tricks jack pulled (cuz old lucifer can dish it out but he can't take it) and true to his word (cuz what does a man have if he doesn't have his word?), refused to let jack into hell. the devil sent jack into the deep, dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. jack put the coal into a carved~out turnip and used it to light the way. and so began the legend of jack of the lantern.
people in ireland and scotland started making "jack's lantern" out of turnips and potatoes, carving scary faces into them and placing them in their windows to ward off evil spirits, including stingy jack. immigrants to america brought this tradition with them and found that pumpkins (which are native to america, by the way) were perfect.
FLASH FORWARD today
we americans love our jack o'lanterns. from carving, or painting, to purchasing pre-lit pumpkins, jack of the lantern is a halloween favorite. and now you know why... (^^)
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