Did you ever wonder why we decide to carve a face into a giant orange vegetable every October? Well, as with many modern traditions it
Pictured: not the Devil. Photo courtesy romacostume.com.stems from common folklore. The story of the Jack O’ Lantern begins in the rolling hills of Ireland with a man named “Stingy Jack.” Stingy Jack was a daring man who decided he wanted to have a drink with the devil. And no, the devil was not a co-ed dressed in a sexy outfit with red horns and a tail. This was Satan, himself — the father of all that is evil.
Stingy Jack lived up to his name and did not want to pay for the drinks, so he decided he was going to trick the Devil, because hey, why not trick the most evil thing in existence? The Devil was tricked into turning into a coin to pay for the drinks and instead of paying for the drinks, Stingy Jack did what anyone would do and put the coin in his pocket next to a silver cross for safe keeping. The silver cross prevented the Devil from changing.
Stingy Jack finally let the Devil free, but only if the Devil would not bother Jack for a year and not claim his soul upon his death. One year later and ol' Stingy Jack decided to trick the Devil again. He convinced
Pictured: The Devil. There is a metaphor in there somewhere. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.the surprisingly gullible Devil to climb a tree. Jack then carved a cross into the tree and told the Devil he could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten years.
Years passed and Jack eventually kicked the bucket. Stingy Jack was rejected from heaven by God for pretty obvious reasons. The Devil kept his word and rejected Jack from Hell. The Devil was not done,
A traditional Jack O' Lantern popular in Ireland. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.however. He was quite upset about being fooled twice by Jack and gave Jack a burning coal and sent him off into the dark.
Jack put the coal in a carved out turnip and has roamed the Earth ever since then. He became known as Jack of the Lantern.
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