KOMPAS.com – Every October 31st is celebrated as Halloween, especially in western countries.
One of the typical elements during this celebration is a pumpkin, which is generally carved and decorated in such a way as to form eyes, nose and mouth which is often nicknamed a jack-o-lantern.
So, why is Halloween synonymous with pumpkins and what are jack-o-lanterns?
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Quoted from Today.comWednesday (30/10/2024), the jack-o-lantern is said to be related to the myth of an Irish resident named Stingy Jack.
Jack is said to be an evil figure, he can even trick the devil who wants to take his soul. As a result, after he died, Jack’s spirit was rejected in both heaven and hell.
Jack was sentenced to roam the world forever, carrying a turnip carved and lit inside as a lantern to light his way.
The myth of Stingy Jack is what is said to have inspired Irish people to carve faces into turnips to ward off evil spirits.
“When the Irish and Scottish people came to America (United States), they found native plants in the form of pumpkins that were better than turnips,” said the author of the book “Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween”, Lisa Morton, quoted from Today.com.
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Illustration of a carved pumpkin for Halloween celebration.Apart from being better, pumpkins are also considered easier to carve than turnips.
The jack-o-lantern pumpkin then became a typical element of Halloween, one of the reasons is that the concept is almost similar.
It is believed that Halloween originates from the Samhain festival, an ancient English and Irish celebration that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the new year on November 1, as reported by Britannica.
During Samhain, the souls of humans who died that year departed for another world, while other souls returned to visit their homes.
Then, in the 8th century AD, the Roman Catholic Church moved All Saints’ Day to November 1. Thus All Hallows’ Eve falls on October 31st.
All Hallows’ Eve is believed to be one of the origins of the mention of Halloween.
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