Figured I’d better post this because we didn’t do ANYTHING ‘Halloween’ here this week! Tomorrow morning starts a new thread, already! Note: Some ADULT language in the following missive:
The Irish Origins of the Jack-O’-Lantern
Listen, my children, and you shall hear, of the midnight meddling of Stingy Jack, from whom the jack-o’-lantern derives its name. Or so the story goes.
Here’s the most common version of the 18th-century Irish folktale:
A grumpy b@stard of a blacksmith by the name of Stingy Jack invites the devil for a drink but refuses to pay (hence, the ‘stingy’ descriptor). He convinces the devil to shape-shift into a coin to cover the tab. But when the devil obliges, Jack sticks the coin in his pocket. And much to the devil-coin’s dismay, there is a silver cross in that pocket, preventing him from returning to his original form. A deal is struck. Jack sets the devil free and, in return, the devil agrees A) to bar Jack from entering hell when he dies, and B) to leave Jack alone for a year.
A quick aside: This seems like a bad deal. And it is a bad deal — because guess what? A year later, the devil comes back to mess with Jack. Only Jack is ready for him. He convinces the devil to climb a tree so he might enjoy a delicious piece of fruit. Once the devil is up in the tree, Jack carves a cross into the trunk. The devil can’t come down. Another (bad) deal is struck, although this one does have the advantage of being slightly less bad than the previous one. Jack frees the devil in exchange for ten years of peace.
Jack dies. (Don’t be sad. He was an @sshole.) The devil, true to his word, refuses to let Jack into hell. God, meanwhile, refuses to let Jack into heaven. So, what is Jack’s fate? To wander forever in eternal darkness, of course. But because the devil is not totally heartless (wait…), he tosses Jack a lump of burning coal from hell so he can have a bit of light. Jack carves out a turnip and sticks the coal inside, creating a lantern. Hence, “Jack of the Lantern,” which is later shortened to “Jack O’Lantern.”
The rest, as they say, is folklore.
By which I mean: There’s a lot more to the story.
https://irishmyths.com/2021/09/19/jack-o-lantern-history/
I have never heard that story before. Hmmm.