A traditional Jack O'Lantern. | Source A traditional Jack O'Lantern. | Source The Lost History of the Jack O'Lantern Updated on August 16, 2016
Like most of our holiday rituals and traditions, getting to the true roots of the origins proves difficult. There is a lot of bad research out there, and stories told by sources like the History Channel which are based on lazy and inadequate research. The true history of many of our traditions and customs have become lost in the annals of time. The average person does not sit around reading folklore journals from the 1800s or search for out of print folklore books (only geeks like me do that!), but learns history from mass media, which often doesn't get the story quite right. Add to that, over the last century America emerged as the global media giant. So American television and film has been viewed all around the world for generations. I believe this has caused some confusion when it comes to certain folk customs which came to America from Britain, died out in Britain, but remained popular in American culture. So, I am not going to give you a run down of Halloween in the last century, of young Scots-Irish-American scamps running around the streets making mischief at the turn of the 20th century. You can find enough of that on the History Channel. I like to pick up where the History Channel leaves off and take you back further to the ancient pagan origins of our modern holidays. Because much of this occurred in pre-history (in the context of oral cultures who did not leave written records), we can find our hidden history buried within a field that doesn't get the attention it deserves these days: folklore. (For more on why folklore is so important, read Folklore and the Preservation of Heritage) This image seems to demonstrate the spirit within the lantern leaping out and coming to life. This photo is by Matthew Gordon. | Source Jack O'Lantern: The Basics As many already know, the O in Jack O'Lantern is a contraction for "of." It is more or less slang for "Jack of the Lantern." There were originally regional variations in different parts of Britain such as Jack-a-Lantern, Jacky Lantern, Jack w' a Lantern, and likely others. So what exactly did this mean? Well Jack was often used as a euphemism for a spirit. It could sometimes be a clownish figure, a good spirit or a bad spirit, a nature guardian, or other folkloric figures. You see more examples of Jack as a spirit in other folkloric motifs such as Jack in the Green (and a myriad of other Jacks in British folklore: Jack Frost, Jack-in-Irons, Jack o'Legs, and many more). And, as with all of our ancestral customs and beliefs from the days when celebrations were not described in books or dictated at the pulpit, the lore associated with these customs varied over time and by geography. Manx Turnips Take Revenge Where Did Jack O'Lantern Come From? It seems likely that Jack O'Lantern has ties to pre-Christian origins. We arrive at this conclusion not by hard evidence like a written record, because the inhabitants of Britain did not record things in writing during the pre-Christian era. We assume the pagan origins of folk customs like the Jack O'Lantern by analyzing them within the context and framework in which they are presented in the folklore, as well as in the larger folk culture. Halloween evolved from the old Celtic pagan holiday Samhain, which was considered the start of the New Year to the ancient Celts. Calender high days were recognized by the many other cultures in Europe at similar times throughout the year, and often had similar meanings and practices. But they would, of course be known by different names in different regions. For example, the October 31st festival on the Isle of Man was called Hop tu Naa. Samhain was considered a day of very high spiritual activity, when the veil between the worlds became so thin that spirits could slip through very easily. It was a time to honor the dead and ancestors who had passed. But it was also a time to be weary of malicious spirits. Various supersticious or magical traditions (depending on your point of view) were used to ward off evil and protect the home. The original Jack O'Lanterns were carved from turnips, beets, or gourds. The intention behind the practice was to scare spirits by frightening them with a face as wicked as they were. A fight fire with fire approach. Evolution of Legend and Practice Because Europe's Christian Holidays were built on top of the original pagan holidays, new legends and stories were devised to give Christian explanations to the pagan practices still being carried on among the peasantry. This was true in Britain and also on the mainland European continent. This is one major stumbling block to finding the true origins of our holiday customs. The Church was so effective at masking the truth with their smoke and mirrors that even today many "history" documentaries trace holiday origins to legends of Catholic saints instead of digging deeper for the true story which was usurped by the religious tale. This is most prominent with articles and documentaries about Santa Claus. We see stories about the Catholic Saint Nicholas which barely mention the previous mythological origins of Santa Claus, such as his relation to Odin and other Northern European shamanic figures. The true figure of Yuletide was so threatening to the Church, and apparently the Nativity Story was not powerful enough to drown it out, that they created a new story about a figure called Saint Nicholas who was superimposed on top of Odin (and Odin's regional variants). And, if you are naïve enough to believe that stories about Catholic saints are based in fact, I urge you to consult your nearest medievalist about hagiography. The Tale of Stingy Jack Enter Stingy Jack Halloween fared better than other seasonal holidays. Although the Catholic holidays of All Saints Day and All Hallows Eve were superimposed over Samhain, they have now faded into obscurity apart from a minority of devout Catholic practitioners, while Halloween has grown into a wildly popular holiday with clear pagan connotations. There is no singular Catholic saint claiming ownership of this holiday, or acting as a figure head, in the way Saint Nicholas usurped Yule and Saint Brigid usurped Imbolc (which was turned into Candlemas), and neither were stories of the life of Christ cut and pasted on top of it, as was done with Yuletide and Easter. Perhaps this was the loophole that allowed Halloween to stand fast like a beacon from ancient times. But, All Hallows Eve did develop it's own Christian legends, they were just of less epic proportions than the ones given to other holidays. As Samhain became All Hallow's Eve, the Jack O'Lantern was placed within a Christian context in the legend of Stingy Jack. The Tale This story has many variations, but they share the general gist. Stingy Jack was not a spirit, but rather a miserly drunkard. Jack had an aversion to paying for his booze, and so he duped others into buying his drinks. He became so good at his ruse that the Devil himself was bamboozled by Jack. Well, the Devil isn't exactly known for his charity, so he turned himself into a coin with which Jack could buy his ale under the condition that Jack's soul belonged to him. Imagine the Devil's surprise when he was foiled by Jack! This sneaky drunk was smarter than he looked. Jack placed the coin inside his pocket where it rubbed against a small silver crucifix. The power of the cross negated Satan's contract and the Devil had to swear never to let Jack's soul enter Hell. But, the last laugh was on Jack. Because of his philandering and wicked ways, God also refused Jack entry into Heaven. So, Jack's soul was doomed to eternally wander the Earth. Mocking him, the Devil tossed a burning ember that would never burn out which landed at Jack's feet. Making the best of the situation, Jack carved out a turnip and placed the ember inside creating a lantern to light his way as he wandered for ever more, always searching for his final resting place. Analysis The Legend of Stingy Jack may not usurp Halloween with the same ferocity as other Christianized holiday legends spread by the Church to hijack other pre-Christian holidays, but it did give an explanation for the widespread custom of the Jack O'Lantern which fell within a Christian dichotomy of good and evil. It introduces God and the Devil as characters who determine Jack's fate. Just when Jack thinks he got away with his trickery, it is God who gets the last laugh. The intended lesson is that if you dabble with evil, you will pay for it. And, of course, the Old Ways upon which Halloween customs are based were considered evil by the Church. Weeding Legitimate History from Bogus When weeding through the evidence to determine what is legitimate vs. bogus information, try to take what is being presented and place it in context with what you already know to be true to see if this piece fits within the larger picture. Using this critical technique makes the Legend of Stingy Jack so very interesting because it fits within the established framework of what we know about Halloween. We know that it was a pagan high day turned into a Christian one. We also know that our other holidays went through the same transformation. This is common knowledge by now. Most Christians (apart from very ignorant ones) do realize that Jesus was not born on December 25th, if he was even born at all (and I DO believe that he was, but that is another story!). So, when mass media television programs or articles on the internet attempt to explain the roots of a holiday known to have pagan origins by suggesting it originated as a Christian legend, stop and think about whether that makes sense. Does it make sense for the origin of the Jack O'Lantern to come from this Christian Stingy Jack tale? Or does it make more sense that this tale was spun to take the emphasis off of pagan origins and give it a Christian meaning? And, the next time you see a History Channel documentary on Santa Claus, stop to do the same analysis. Does it really make sense for the Church to take the emphasis away from Jesus' birth by elevating a saint? Or does it make more sense for the Church to be frustrated that pagan Yule traditions continued to be practiced by the commoners and so they invented a holiday figure to distract them?
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