Halloween brings to mind the jack-o-lantern, carved from a pumpkin. Do you know how this tradition started?
Halloween nowadays is a night for dressing up, telling ghost stories, having spooky parties, trick-or-treating and pumpkin carving. Halloween is actually based on an ancient Celtic holiday known as Samhain (pronounced "sow wan"), which means "summer's end".
It was the end of the Celtic year and a night to honor ancestors. On this magical night, glowing jack-o-lanterns, carved from turnips or gourds, were set on porches and in windows to act as protection against malevolent spirits. Burning lumps of coal were used inside as a source of light, later to be replaced by candles.
When European settlers, particularly the Irish, arrived in America they found the native pumpkin to be larger, easier to carve and the perfect choice for jack-o-lanterns. Halloween didn't really catch on big in this country until the late 1800's and has been celebrated in so many ways ever since!
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