THE STORY OF THE JACK O’ LANTERN

According to Irish folklore, the devil came to earth to bring back with him the soul of a wicked and stingy man named Jack.  Jack tricked the devil into climbing up into an apple tree.  Once there, Jack carved a cross onto the tree’s trunk rendering the devil powerless to leave the tree.  Jack agreed to help him but only if he vowed never to take his soul.  The devil agreed.  Eventually, Jack died anyway but was refused entry to Heaven.  The devil honoring his vow also refused him entrance into hell.  Doomed to wonder through the darkness forever with nowhere to go, Jack begged the devil for light to see his way.  The devil tossed him a piece of hot coal from the fires of hell.  Jack placed the coal into a carved out turnip to make it a lantern. The Irish kept up this tradition throughout the years however once the Irish migrated to America, they found pumpkins more plentiful then turnips and replace one vegetable for the other.  Today the carved pumpkin face is perhaps the most famous icon of the holiday.