Editing Jack-o'-lantern

{{Short description|Carved pumpkin or root vegetable lantern}}
{{redirect|Halloween pumpkin|the pumpkin cultivar|Connecticut field pumpkin}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
[[File:Balle-à-leunettes 10.jpg|thumb|A traditional American jack-o'-lantern, made from a [[pumpkin]], lit from within by a [[candle]]]]
[[File:RIP Pumpkin.JPG|thumb|A picture carved onto a jack-o'-lantern for Halloween]]

A '''jack-o'-lantern''' (or '''jack o'lantern''') is a carved [[lantern]], most commonly made from a [[pumpkin]], or formerly a [[root vegetable]] such as a [[mangelwurzel]], [[rutabaga]] or [[turnip]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-history-of-jack-o-lantern|title=The History of 'Jack-O'-Lantern'|access-date=2018-10-25|language=en}}</ref> Jack-o'-lanterns are associated with the [[Halloween]] holiday. Its name comes from the phenomenon of strange lights flickering over [[peat bog]]s, called ''jack-o'-lanterns'' (also known as ''[[will-o'-the-wisp]]s''). It is suggested that the name also has ties to the Irish legend of [[Stingy Jack]], a drunkard who bargains with [[Satan]] and is doomed to roam the Earth with only a hollowed turnip to light his way.

Jack-o'-lanterns carved from pumpkins are a yearly Halloween tradition that developed in the [[United States]] when Irish, Cornish, Scottish and other [[Celts (modern)|Celtic]] influenced immigrants brought their root vegetable carving traditions with them.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/jack-olantern-history|title=History of the Jack O' Lantern|work=HISTORY|access-date=2018-10-25|language=en}}</ref>  It is common to see jack-o'-lanterns used as external and interior decorations prior to and on Halloween.

To make a jack-o'-lantern, the top of a pumpkin is cut off to form a lid, the inside flesh is scooped out, and an image—usually a "scary" or "funny" face—is carved out of the rind exposing the hollow interior. A light source, traditionally a candle flame or tealight, is placed within before the lid is closed. Artificial jack-o'-lanterns with electric lights are also marketed.

==Etymology==
[[File:Rack of pumpkins, Keene NH.jpg|thumbnail|left|An assortment of carved pumpkins.]]

The term ''jack-o'-lantern'' was originally used to describe the visual [[phenomenon]] ''ignis fatuus'' (lit., "foolish fire") known as a [[will-o'-the-wisp]] in [[English folklore]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dixon |first=J. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T_9LAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22jack+o+lantern%22&pg=PA174 |title=Dictionary of Idiomatic Phrases... |date=1891 |publisher=T. Nelson & Company |pages=174 |language=en}}</ref> Used especially in [[East of England|East England]], its earliest known use dates to the 1660s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/Jack-o'-lantern#etymonline_v_1626|title=Jack o'lantern (n.)|last=Harper|first=Douglas|work=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=9 May 2013}}</ref> The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') records use of the term in Britain from 1658 in reference to ''ignis fatuus'', and from 1663 to 1704 in reference to a man with a lantern or to a night watchman. The ''OED'' gives 1837 as the earliest date for when the term was used to refer to a lantern carved from a turnip or pumpkin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jack-o'-lantern, n. meanings, etymology and more |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/jack-o-lantern_n?tab=meaning_and_use |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref> 
{{clear}}

==History==
[[File:Traditional Irish halloween Jack-o'-lantern.jpg|thumb|upright|A plaster cast of a traditional Irish Jack-o'-Lantern in the [[Museum of Country Life]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]].  Rutabaga or turnip were often used.]]

===Origin===
The [[Vegetable carving|carving of vegetables]] has been a common practice in many parts of the world. It is believed that the custom of making jack-o'-lanterns at Halloween time began in Ireland and Britain.<ref name=clant>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AN7WAAAAMAAJ&q=candlelit+lanterns+were+carved+from+large+turnips |title=The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink |page=269|publisher= Oxford University Press|date= 2007|isbn=9780195307962 |access-date= February 17, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4385812.stm |title=Pumpkins Passions|work=BBC|date= October 31, 2005|access-date=October 19, 2006}} They continue to be popular choices today as carved lanterns in Northern England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland; the British purchased a million pumpkins for Halloween in 2004."</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4383216.stm |title=Turnip battles with pumpkin for Hallowe'en|work=BBC|date= October 28, 2005|access-date= September 23, 2007}}</ref> In the 19th century, "[[turnip]]s or [[Mangelwurzel|mangel wurzels]], hollowed out to act as lanterns and often carved with grotesque faces," were used on Halloween in parts of England, Ireland, [[Wales]] and Scotland.<ref name=hutton382-383>{{cite book|author=Hutton, Ronald|author-link=Ronald Hutton|title=The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain|publisher= Oxford University Press|date= 1996|pages=382–383}}</ref> In [[Goidelic languages|Gaelic]]-speaking regions, Halloween was also the festival of [[Samhain]] and was seen as a time when supernatural beings (the {{Lang|ga|[[Aos Sí]]}}) walked the earth. In Wales such nights were known as Ysbrydnosau (spirit nights), with [[Calan Gaeaf]] being the one which occurred on the night of 31 October. Jack-o'-lanterns were also made at Halloween time in [[Somerset]], England (see [[Punkie Night]]) during the 19th century.<ref name=hutton382-383 />

By those who made them, the lanterns were said to represent either spirits or supernatural beings,<ref name=hutton382-383 /> or were [[Apotropaic magic|used to ward off evil spirits]].<ref name=palmer87>{{cite book|author=Palmer, Kingsley|title=Oral folk-tales of Wessex|publisher= David & Charles|date= 1973|pages=87–88}}</ref> For example, sometimes they were used by Halloween participants to frighten people,<ref name="palmer87" /><ref name="arnoldb" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Wilson, David Scofield|title=Rooted in America: Foodlore of Popular Fruits and Vegetables|url=https://archive.org/details/rootedinamericaf00davi|url-access=registration|publisher= University of Tennessee Press|date= 1999|page=[https://archive.org/details/rootedinamericaf00davi/page/154 154]}}</ref> and sometimes they were set on [[Window sill|windowsills]] to keep harmful spirits out of one's home.<ref name=arnoldb>{{cite web |url=https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/barnold/www/lectures/holloween.html |title=Bettina Arnold&nbsp;– Halloween Lecture: Halloween Customs in the Celtic World |access-date=2007-10-16 |last=Arnold |first=Bettina |date=2001-10-31 |publisher=Center for Celtic Studies |work=Halloween [[Inaugural]] Celebration |location=[[University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624080404/https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/barnold/www/lectures/holloween.html |archive-date=2011-06-24 }}</ref> It has also been suggested that the jack-o'-lanterns originally represented [[Christianity|Christian]] souls in [[purgatory]], as Halloween is the eve of [[All Saints' Day]] (1 November)/[[All Souls' Day]] (2 November).<ref>{{cite book|author=Rogers, Nicholas|title=Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night|url=https://archive.org/details/halloweenfrompag00roge|url-access=limited|publisher= Oxford University Press|date= 2003|page=[https://archive.org/details/halloweenfrompag00roge/page/n66 57]|isbn=978-0-19-514691-2}}</ref>

On January 16, 1836, the ''[[Dublin Penny Journal]]'' published a long story on the legend of "Jack-o'-the-Lantern", although this does not mention the lantern being carved from a vegetable.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9gLSAAAAMAAJ&q=history+of+jack+o+lanterns&pg=RA1-PA230 |title=History of Jack-o'-the-Lantern|journal=Dublin Penny Journal|year=1835|volume= 3–4|pages=229, 1835}}</ref> In 1837, the ''Limerick Chronicle'' refers to a local [[pub]] holding a carved gourd competition and presenting a prize to "the best crown of Jack McLantern". The term "McLantern" also appears in an 1841 publication of the same paper.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

There is also evidence that turnips were used to carve what was called a "Hoberdy's Lantern" in [[Worcestershire]], England, at the end of the 18th century. The [[folklorist]] [[Jabez Allies]] outlines other derivations of the name, "Hobany's", which is most likely derived from "Hob and his", with other variations including "Hob-o'-Lantern", "Hobbedy's Lantern" and "Hobbady-lantern".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kittredge|first=G. L.|date=1900|title=The Friar's Lantern and Friar Rush|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/456566|journal=PMLA|volume=15|issue=4|pages=415–441|doi=10.2307/456566|jstor=456566|issn=0030-8129|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===In North America===

The application of the term to carved pumpkins in [[American English]] is first seen in 1837.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jack-o'-lantern|work=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref>

[[File:Thanksgiving_Greetings,_jack-o-lantern_and_a_turkey_(NBY_18516).jpg|right|thumb|200px|American Thanksgiving Day postcard sent in 1909 with images of a jack-o'-lantern and a turkey]] In the United States and Canada, the carved pumpkin was first associated with the harvest season in general before it became a symbol of Halloween.<ref name=NYTM /> In 1895, an article on [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] entertaining recommended giving a lit jack-o'-lantern as a child's prize in Thanksgiving games.<ref name=NYTM>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9800EEDC1139E033A25757C2A9679D94649ED7CF |title=The Day We Celebrate: Thanksgiving Treated Gastronomically and Socially |work=The New York Times|date= November 24, 1895|page= 27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9802E7D6173FE433A25752C2A9669D946197D6CF |title=Odd Ornaments for Table|work=The New York Times|date= October 21, 1900|page= 12}}</ref> The poet [[John Greenleaf Whittier]], who was born in Massachusetts in 1807, wrote the poem "The Pumpkin" (1850), which mentions Thanksgiving but not Halloween:<ref>{{cite web|author=Whittier, John Greenleaf|url=http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19022|website=Poets.org|title=The Pumpkin|date=1885|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128145648/http://poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19022|archive-date=2010-11-28}}</ref><blockquote>Oh!—fruit loved of boyhood!—the old days recalling,

When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!
When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,

Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!</blockquote>

The carved pumpkin lantern's association with Halloween is recorded in the 1 November 1866 edition of the ''Daily News'' ([[Kingston, Ontario]]):
{{blockquote|The old time custom of keeping up Hallowe'en was not forgotten last night by the youngsters of the city. They had their maskings and their merry-makings, and perambulated the streets after dark in a way which was no doubt amusing to themselves. There was a great sacrifice of pumpkins from which to make transparent heads and face, lighted up by the unfailing two inches of tallow candle.<ref>{{cite news|work=Daily News|location=Kingston, Ontario|date= November 1, 1866|title=Carved pumpkin}}</ref>}}

In 1879's ''Funny Nursery Rhymes'', a poem admonishes children to avoid being similar to untrustworthy "Master Jack o' Lantern," described as a "wicked, deceiving boy" similar to a [[will-o'-the-wisp]] who "dances, and jumps, and gambols." He is humorously illustrated as a personification of a lantern.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DIPAAAAQAAJ&dq=%22jack-o'-lantern%22&pg=RA2-PA19 |title=Funny Nursery Rhymes |date=1879 |publisher=Ward, Lock, and Company |pages=17–20 |language=en}}</ref>

An 1885 article "Halloween Sports and Customs" contrasts the American jack-o'-lantern custom with the British bonfire custom:<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Sage, Agnes Carr|title=Halloween Sports and Customs|magazine=[[Harper's Young People]]|date= October 27, 1885|page=828}}</ref>
{{blockquote|It is an ancient British custom to light great [[bonfires]] (Bone-fire to clear before Winter froze the ground) on Hallowe'en, and carry blazing [[fascine|fagots]] about on long poles; but in place of this, American boys delight in the funny grinning jack-o'-lanterns made of huge yellow pumpkins with a candle inside.}}

Adaptations of [[Washington Irving]]'s short story "[[The Legend of Sleepy Hollow]]" (1820) often show the [[Headless Horseman (Legend of Sleepy Hollow)|Headless Horseman]] with a jack-o'-lantern in place of his severed head. In the original story, a shattered pumpkin is discovered next to Ichabod Crane's abandoned hat on the morning after Crane's supposed encounter with the Horseman, but the story does not reference jack-o'-lanterns or Halloween.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Morton |first=Lisa |title=Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2012 |pages=160}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Skal |first=Richard |title=Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2002 |pages=35}}</ref>

===Folklore===

The story of the jack-o'-lantern comes in many forms and is similar to the story of [[Will-o'-the-wisp]]<ref>{{cite book|author=Santino, Jack |title=All Around the Year: Holidays and Celebrations in American Life|page=157 |publisher=University of Illinois Press|date= 1995}}</ref> retold in different forms across [[Western Europe]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Allies|first=Jabez|title=The British, Roman, and Saxon antiquities and folklore of Worcestershire|year=1856|publisher=J.R. Smith|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/britishromansaxo00alli/page/430 430]|url=https://archive.org/details/britishromansaxo00alli}}</ref> including, [[Italy]], [[Norway]], [[Spain]] and [[Sweden]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Newell|first=William Wells|title=The Ignis Fatuus, Its Character and Legendary Origin|journal=Journal of American Folk-Lore|date=1 January 1904|volume=17|issue=64|pages=39–60|doi=10.2307/533988|jstor=533988}}</ref> In [[Switzerland]], children will leave bowls of [[milk]] or [[cream]] out for mythical [[house spirit]]s called [[Jack o' the bowl]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/81/9071.html|title=Brewer, e. Cobham. Dictionary of Phrase & Fable. Jack o' the Bowl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010218134113/http://www.bartleby.com/81/9071.html |archive-date=2001-02-18 }}</ref>
An old [[Irish folklore|Irish folk tale]] from the mid-18th century tells of [[Stingy Jack]], a lazy yet shrewd blacksmith who uses a cross to trap [[Satan]].
One story says that Jack tricked Satan into climbing an [[apple tree]], and once he was up there, Jack quickly placed crosses around the trunk or carved a cross into the bark, so that Satan could not get down.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Jack-O-Lantern|author=Mark Hoerrner|url=http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-jacko-lantern-irish-tale-halloween.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061114193117/http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-jacko-lantern-irish-tale-halloween.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=November 14, 2006 |work=buzzle.com|year=2006|access-date=2007-05-09}}</ref>

Another version{{citation needed|date=December 2011}} of the story says that Jack was getting chased by some villagers from whom he had stolen. He then met Satan, who claimed it was time for him to die. However, the thief stalled his death by tempting Satan with a chance to bedevil the church-going villagers chasing him. Jack told Satan to turn into a coin with which he would pay for the stolen goods (Satan could take on any shape he wanted); later, when the coin (Satan) disappeared, the Christian villagers would fight over who had stolen it. The Devil agreed to this plan. He turned himself into a silver coin and jumped into Jack's wallet, only to find himself next to a cross Jack had also picked up in the village. Jack closed the wallet tight, and the cross stripped the Devil of his powers; and so he was trapped.

In both folktales, Jack lets Satan go only after he agrees to never take his soul. Many years later, the thief died, as all living things do. Of course, Jack's life had been too sinful for him to go to Heaven; however, Satan had promised not to take his soul, and so he was barred from Hell as well.<ref name="History of the Jack O' Lantern">{{Cite news|url=https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/jack-olantern-history|title=History of the Jack O' Lantern|work=HISTORY|access-date=2018-10-20|language=en}}</ref> Jack now had nowhere to go. He asked how he would see where to go, as he had no light, and Satan mockingly tossed him a burning coal, to light his way. Jack carved out one of his turnips (which were his favorite food), put the coal inside it, and began endlessly wandering the Earth for a resting place.<ref name="History of the Jack O' Lantern"/> He became known as "Jack of the Lantern", or jack o'lantern.

[[Cornish people|Cornish]] folklorist Dr. [[Thomas Quiller Couch]] (d. 1884) recorded the use of the term in a rhyme used in [[Polperro]], [[Cornwall]], in conjunction with [[Joan the Wad]], the Cornish version of Will-o'-the-wisp. The people of Polperro regarded them both as [[pixie]]s. The rhyme goes:<ref>{{cite book|author1=Simpson, Jacqueline  |author2=Roud, Steve |title= A Dictionary of English Folklore|publisher= Oxford University Press|date= 2000}}</ref>

<blockquote><poem>Jack o' the lantern! Joan the wad,
Who tickled the maid and made her mad
Light me home, the weather's bad.</poem></blockquote>

Jack-o-lanterns were also a way of protecting one's home against the [[undead]]. Superstitious people<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fiveminutehistory.com/the-tale-o-jack-o-lantern/|title=The Tale o' Jack-o'-Lantern|last=James|first=David|date=2016-10-31|website=5-Minute History|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-11}}</ref> used them specifically to ward off [[vampire]]s. They thought this because it was said that the jack-o-lantern's light was a way of identifying vampires who, once their identity was known, would give up their hunt for you.

==Pumpkin craft==
[[File:Halloween 2008 Pumpkin workshop 2.jpg|thumb|Jack-o'-lanterns in the process of creation]]
Sections of the pumpkin or turnip are cut out to make holes, often depicting a face, which may be either cheerful, scary, or comical.<ref name="Poe Hart Foster Noyes 1990">{{cite book | last1=Poe | first1=R.H. | last2=Hart | first2=R.M. | last3=Foster | first3=K. | last4=Noyes | first4=L. | title=You Can Carve Fantastic Jack-O-Lanterns | publisher=Storey Communications | year=1990 | isbn=978-0-88266-580-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dFwEwW2EYcAC}}</ref> Jack-o'-lanterns are typically made from [[Connecticut field pumpkin]]s, which are described as "the original commercial jack-o'-lantern pumpkin".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Damerow|first1=Gail|author-link=Gail Damerow|title=The Perfect Pumpkin: Growing/Cooking/Carving|date=2 January 2012 |page=15|publisher=Storey Publishing, LLC |isbn=9781603427418 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8x3pt_qZxOkC}}</ref><ref name="TCS2">{{cite book|last1=Goldman|first1=Amy|title=The Compleat Squash: A Passionate Grower's Guide to Pumpkins, Squash, and Gourds|date=January 2004 |page=108|publisher=Artisan Books |isbn=9781579652517 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yzPyDsVBmGcC}}</ref>

==World records==
For a long time, [[Keene, New Hampshire]], held the [[Pumpkin Fest|world record]] for most jack-o'-lanterns carved and lit in one place. The [[Life is Good Company]] teamed up with Camp Sunshine,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.campsunshine.org/|title=Home &#124; Camp Sunshine|website=www.campsunshine.org}}</ref> a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families, to break the record. A record was set on October 21, 2006, when 30,128 jack-o'-lanterns were simultaneously lit on [[Boston Common (park)|Boston Common]] in downtown [[Boston, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite news|author1=Levenson, Michael |author2=McCabe, Kathy |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/10/22/a_love_in_common_for_pumpkins |title=A Love in Common for Pumpkins|work=The Boston Globe| date=October 22, 2006|page= B6}}</ref> [[Highwood, Illinois]], tried to set the record on October 31, 2011, with an unofficial count of 30,919 but did not follow the [[Guinness World Book of Records|Guinness]] regulations, so the achievement did not count.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://highlandpark.suntimes.com/news/8307610-418/story.html |title=Highwood sets pumpkin-carving record |publisher=Highland Park News |access-date=2012-10-30 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224015309/http://highlandpark.suntimes.com/news/8307610-418/story.html |archive-date=2013-02-24 }}</ref>

On October 19, 2013, Keene broke the Boston record and reclaimed the [[Pumpkin Fest|world record]] for most lit jack-o'-lanterns on display (30,581). The town has broken the record eight times since the original attempt.<ref>{{cite web |title=Most Lit Jack-o'-lanterns Displayed |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/most-lit-jack-o-lanterns-displayed |access-date=September 24, 2024 |website=Guinness World Records}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Apple doll]]
* [[Apotropaic magic]]
* [[Coco (folklore)|Cuco]]
* [[The Great Pumpkin]]
* [[Pumpkin Weeks]]

==References==
{{clear}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons and category|Jack-o'-lantern}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* [https://www.boston.com/news/history/2014/10/29/the-history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-how-it-all-began-with-a-turnip The History of The Jack-O-Lantern (& How It All Began With a Turnip)]
* [http://mentalfloss.com/article/12865/whats-origin-jack-o-lanterns What’s the Origin of Jack-O’-Lanterns?]

{{Halloween}}
{{Squashes and pumpkins}}
{{Fairies}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Fruit and vegetable characters]]
[[Category:Halloween practices]]
[[Category:Food and drink decorations]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Squashes and pumpkins]]
[[Category:Culture of Ireland]]
[[Category:Culture of the United States]]
[[Category:Objects believed to protect from evil]]
[[Category:The Legend of Sleepy Hollow]]
[[Category:Pixies]]