Oíche Shamhna

#2 – Jack O'Lanterns:

My childhood impression of a North American Halloween was largely formed by seeing E.T. in the cinema, in 1982. The costumes were lavish, the 'Trick or Treating' was extensive, and (most importantly) there were pumpkin Jack O'Lanterns by the bucketload. This occasioned great envy in our house, for not only were we lacking 'pumpkins' (plural), we didn't even have 'pumpkin' (singular).

If one were to compile a list of "Top Ten Most Modest Vegetables" (and why not in these list-obsessed times?), one would struggle to look beyond the turnip when awarding the number one spot. Yet, it was this particularly un-sexy root that took pride of place in our family home when the 31st of October rolled round: a modest lantern, overshadowed (somewhat) by its North American cousin….

Little did we realise then that by honouring the much-maligned turnip, we were actually engaging in a 'purer' form of Halloween celebration than that practiced by those cute Spielbergian kids. To clarify, we must go back to the legend of "Stingy Jack":

People have been making jack o'lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as 'Jack of the Lantern,' and then, simply 'Jack O'Lantern.'¹

Intriguing, no? If the turnip was good enough for the Devil, then it certainly should have been good enough for my siblings and I. It proved perfectly adequate to generations of Halloween 'celebrators' from these islands, until they were confronted with a more impressive fruit on the other side of the Atlantic…

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o'lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o'lanterns.²

So, in the spirit of a traditional Oíche Shamhna, I have returned once again to the bosom of the honest turnip. It (rather than the more ostentatious pumpkin) shall take its place in my window this very night, warding off malign spirits, and casting a cheery / eerie glow to boot.

1. History Of The Jack-O'Lantern [back]
2. Ibid. [back]