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Jack O'LanternThe Jack O'Lantern is one of Halloween's most prominent symbols. The Irish are credited with developing the Jack-O-Lantern.
The legend tells of a prankster named Jack who tricked Satan. He was denied entrance to Heaven after he died because of his evil ways, and denied access to Hell because he had tricked the devil. Instead, he was given a single ember to light his way through the darkness. He placed the ember into a turnip, forever doomed to wander with his lantern until Judgment Day. In Britain and Ireland, a turnip was, and sometimes still is, used for their Jack O'Lantern. They believed spirits left the grave on Halloween and sought warmth in their previous homes, but were scared away by this image of a damned soul. When immigrants came to America, they found pumpkins were more plentiful than turnips, and easier to carve. The now familiar Jack-O-Lantern had taken its place in legend. Families that celebrate Halloween will carve a pumpkin into a scary or comical face, and place a candle inside the hollowed out shell, creating a crude lantern. This is then placed on the home's doorstep on Halloween night in order to scare evil spirits away. Jack O'Lanterns may also be placed in windows, or even hung from trees. Halloween Jack O'Lantern Stories:
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Halloween" and from www.ShiningRise.com
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