With Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to gather your friends, family or your boo and carve pumpkins! If your creation turns out super cute or super spooky, you may even share it on Twitter or Instagram and get tons of likes and comments. That makes you artsy, right?
But when taking part in this activity, have you ever wondered where it originated from?
For something so popular and “aesthetically pleasing,” this practice started off with less than appealing produce items. The idea of pumpkin carving originated in Ireland and Scotland hundreds of years ago, but pumpkins were never grown on Irish or Scottish soil. Instead, the Celtic people used to carve faces in food staples that were readily accessible: turnips, potatoes and beets. They would then put small candles or embers inside the hollowed-out vegetables to ward off evil spirits. The primary spirit they were concerned about was the one that fueled their belief in All Hallows Eve (Halloween), and that was Stingy Jack.
The legend of Stingy Jack is one that is still believed by many today. Stingy Jack was a mean Irish alcoholic who, according to legend, tricked the Devil into promising to not take his soul when the time came for him to die by trapping him in an apple tree with wooden crosses. When Jack eventually died, he was also denied from heaven for the horrible deeds he had committed while alive. He was now unable to reside in heaven or hell, so his soul began to roam the earth and will continue to do so for the rest of eternity. His soul wanders the most on All Hallows Eve, and he supposedly uses a hollowed-out turnip with embers inside to light his never-ending path. Not as glamorous as you thought.
This belief and practice existed for several centuries before a huge number of Irish men and women decided to come to America in the mid-1800s. They discovered pumpkins and decided to use them instead, because they were larger and available.
So now, after you have carved your creation, you can light it afterwards and imagine you are fending off evil spirits or vibes– like the concept of failing midterms or mismatching patterns in your fall style…totally bad mojo.