okay the myths and folklore around pumpkin carving and jack-o-lanterns
are freaking crazy and convoluted
ow!
let me explain pretty much every tall tale around pumpkins and carving them for halloween
has two or more alternative endings i felt like i was going to choose your
own adventure book while researching this it is absolutely bonkers but totally fun
it's pumpkin carving madness today on eccentric nature
and now
pumpkins and halloween
okay i'm gonna try and break this down as clearly as possible basically the whole
brouhaha about carving pumpkins and having jackal entrance at halloween stems back to
a Samhain ritual and stems back to the story of a really big jerk fish named stingy jack
oh and believe me he earned that title the story of stingy jack jack was a total alcoholic prick
from Ireland who was supposed to kick the bucket so the devil came to collect his soul himself
because he is a total manipulative prick and the devil kind of respects that i guess
well apparently jack was also very suave and persuasive because he convinces the devil to
hang out with him and get a drink before he has to go and in some versions they get properly sloshed
so it comes time to pay the bill and jack is like oh man i totally forgot my wallet you
think you can cover the tab for me satan please oh oh yeah how about this why don't you turn
yourself into a coin then jump into my pocket and like yeah pay for the drinks with yourself
how this works on the devil i got no freaking idea but it does the devil turns himself into
a coin and then jumps into jack's pocket the problem is is that jack being a wily jerk-off has
stashed a cross in his pocket so the devil can't escape so not only does jack skip out on his cab
and not pay his bill but he ends up forcing the devil to give him 10 extra years before the devil
will come and claim his soul now in some versions jack only gets one year and he uses a snazzy
silver cross to entrap the devil now some of the versions of this story have the devil really being
a complete and utter dunce as he's actually heard of jack's reputation for being incredibly devious
and goes to see if this is true and yet still gets tricked yeah that's bad the devil returns
okay part two of the story the devil returns to claim jack's soul and this time jerky jackie is
like yeah hey devil i am so ready to come with you man i you know i'm just a little bit hungry though
you think you're gonna climb that tree over there and get me an apple man that would be so awesome
you're the man you're the devil devil man the devil does it and you probably know what's coming
but depending on the source either this never happened at all or happened one of two ways the
devil climbs the tree really smart there beelze a dud and either jack carves a cross into the tree
or was extremely quick with a hammer or nail because he hammers a cross or possibly a bunch of
crosses on or around the tree now apparently this works because the devil then couldn't climb down
the tree or jump i guess the crosses act like a super glue regardless jack barters with the devil
again and gains himself another one or 10 years of freedom or convinces the devil never to take
his soul again which is really important because that comes into play in phase three jack dies
here we go again with more confusion depending on the source either jack dies from liver disease and
drinking too much or he just up and dies for some unexplained reason and according to most sources
this happens before his 10 years are even up so jack rightfully goes to hell and either the devil
acts like a petulant child and says no no no no you can't come in here you tricked me you jerk get
away from me jack you bad man or because of his pact he tells jack sorry dude i promise not to let
you into hell so yeah man maybe try god see how he's feeling so jack ascends to the pearly gates
and saint peter is like are you kidding me you can't come in here you've been far too much of
a mr meanie naughty man it's heaven dude now this version makes more sense overall because
without the devil making a pact not allowing jack into hell it seems kind of crazy that he wouldn't
and you'd think the devil would be all hey jack you finally died great to see you have
i got a great list of tortures planned for you this is gonna be just tons of fun for me
prepare to suffer you know what i mean so with nowhere to go jack is banished to wander the
earth for eternity one way things pan out according to the folklore is that the devil
actually does respect jack for being a wily trickster like himself so as jack's going off
into the darkness the devil hands him no it tosses him or throws at him an everlasting coal ember
from hell to help light his way jack then finds a turnip carves it out and uses it as a lantern
starting to sound familiar oh he does this because either it's his favorite food or just because it
was the easiest item available it's not terribly clear in most of the versions jack in purgatory
so pitiful old stingy jack is doomed to wander the earth some say this has its origins from
all saints day where jack symbolizes the christian souls who are stuck in purgatory or possibly from
the tale of the wandering jew who taunts jesus and then is forced to walk the earth until the second
coming as word got round about the legend of jack people started calling him jack of the lantern for
obvious reasons which of course was then shortened to jack-o'-lantern there is a reference in the
general dictionary of provincialisms talking about the two meanings for jack in the land thorn
the first equates it to the old legends of the willow the wisp the second regards the
traditional carved turnip now people started carving their own turnip lanterns for various
reasons now some say it was because jack was still a colossal jerk-off and as he wandered around he
would have fun luring people into the marshes for the fairies to have their way with them so people
carved turnips and potatoes and in some cases even beets to scare jack and other evil spirits away
now some people say they carve lanterns to symbolize the one that jack carried others do
it as a means to help guide wayward souls home and really it just depends on who is telling the story
pumpkins for turnips so how does all this get back to pumpkins i mean if you're trying to scare jack
away stick with the turnip those are freaking scary well this is when we move over to america
as the irish migrated in greater numbers to the u.s of a they of course brought their traditions
with them and sure enough turnips were available however they weren't nearly as cheap as pumpkins
and noticing the trend pumpkin growers started braiding pumpkins to make
carving even easier now this is all simple deduction as there's actually no hard evidence
as to why people started using pumpkins over turnips other cool pumpkin carving connections
heart of jack-o-lantern's connection to halloween is believed to go way back to the celtic practice
of placing their ancestors skulls on their doorsteps or sometimes on poles during samhain
they would also place a candle in them as well in ireland they carved pumpkins to represent their
patron saint bridget of kildare there was also an 18th century tradition from worcestershire england
using turnips called hoberty's lantern where they also carved faces on them
and put candles inside as well okay what's with all the turnips let's get back to the pumpkins
carving pumpkins slowly picked up steam until eventually they became the primary carving item
of choice oh dear god stop doing that and it was finally in the 1960s that john howden finally
created the howden pumpkin varietal which is still the pumpkin of choice for carving
political jack-o-lanterns there was a time when jack-o'-lantern was used to describe political
policies as a deception that will lead to nothing but misery and ruin the most famous
use of this was by amos tuck who is credited with starting the republican party in america
he castigated democrats for their jack-o-lantern fantasies of little dictators solid burn
and now the completely different version of stingy jack and if all of this isn't enough
yeah there's a completely different version of this story outlined in the dublin penny journal
in 1836. now in this crazy tale jack is still a slimy commercial who nobody likes but one day
he's struck by a generous whim and decides to help a poor old man who's having trouble on his path
it's an angel and because jack helps him out the angel grants him three wishes
jack however is still a complete and total idiot for his first wish he tells the angel
he wants anyone who uses his favorite chair to be stuck there until he releases them really
that's your wish next anyone who grabs something from his sycamore tree in the front yard
will be stuck there until he releases them and yep the last wish he wastes on his toolbox for
the same purpose oh my gosh seriously you could've had eternal happiness or anything that you want
but no jack chooses to stick people to things like flight paper now in this version when it's jack's
time to die he starts off by sending a demon to come collect him and the first demon gets stuck in
that chair then jack negotiates his extra time a second demon is sent and gets stuck in the toolbox
bright demon more time negotiated finally the devil has had it and comes himself
and jack gets the devil stuck on the tree no cross is needed this time in return for his release the
devil promises no hell for jack jack dies and because he was a blithering idiot wasted his
wishes and spurned a chance for holy redemption he can't get into heaven and you know the rest
so had you heard a stingy jack before or maybe even another version of this tale let me know in
the comments down below if you want to learn some more crazy myths and superstitions about plants
or herbs then watch either of these aw inspiring videos right here please be kind take care of each
other and have fun carving those pumpkins oh god jesus you should stop it already it's so freaky