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Pumpkin Day
"The old time custom of keeping up Hallowe'en was not forgotten last night by the youngsters of the city. They had their maskings and their merry-makings, and perambulated the streets after dark in a way which was no doubt amusing to themselves. There was a great sacrifice of pumpkins from which to make transparent heads and face, lighted up by the unfailing two inches of tallow candle."
~ The Jack O'lantern (le Feu-Follet), Or the Privateer, James Fenimore Cooper, 1842
Beware, Oh Ye Gourds of Orange, Yellow, Green, and White! Your time is nigh! In the Americas, the pumpkin Hallowe'en Jack-o-Lanterns are the preferred squash for warding off Samhain spirits, not to mention yielding tasty seeds for toasting! But before New World pumpkins became popular in the colonies, Hallowe'en lantern traditions from Scotland and Britain made use of beets, turnips and other root vegetables, including rutabagas (swedes), and even potatoes! Even today in the northeast areas of France bordering Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, there is a tradition of carving lanterns from sugar beets. Small candles are placed in the beet lanterns and placed on the windowsills on the eve of All Saints Day, known as as “Nuit des Betteraves Grimaçantes” or “Rommelbootzen” - “The Night of the Grimacing Beets.” Oh my gourd! 🧡 💚 💛 🤎 🧡 🎃 🎃 🎃
There is a strong connection in folklore and popular culture between pumpkins and the supernatural. Famous literary examples include:
The folk tale of Cinderella, in which the fairy godmother turns a pumpkin into a carriage - which reverts back to its pumpkin form at midnight
The pumpkin hurled by the "Headless Horseman" in Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
Nathaniel Hawthorne's short-story, "Feathertop", in which a witch turns a scarecrow with a "pumpkin-head" into a man
And of course, the pumpkin is a preferred item to carve into Jack-o'-Lanterns during the Hallowe'en Season.
However, the practice of carving jack-o'-lanterns at Hallowe'en is thought to have begun in Ireland, using turnips or mangel wurzels (a type of beet). In the 19th century, particularly in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, these were hollowed out to act as lanterns and often carved with grotesque faces during Hallowe'en. The lanterns were variously said to represent the spirits or supernatural beings, or used to ward off evil spirits which had easier access to the the real world during this season.
The names Jack-o'-lantern as well as Will-o'-the-Wisp are also given to the atmospheric phenomenon of the ignis fatuus (Medieval Latin for "foolish fire"), an atmospheric ghost light seen by travelers at night, especially over bogs, swamps, or marshes. It resembles a flickering lamp and is said to recede if approached, drawing travelers from safe paths. Modern scientific explanations still vary as to the mechanisms for this phenomenon.
But originally, the name "Jack-o'-lantern" derives from an old Irish folk tale from the mid-19th century of Stingy Jack, a lazy yet shrewd blacksmith who uses a cross to trap Satan in a tree. In all versions of the folktale, Jack releases Satan only after he agrees never to take Jack's soul. However, after Jack dies, his life had been too sinful for him to go to heaven, and since Satan had promised not to take his soul, Jack is barred from hell as well.
With nowhere to go, Jack is doomed to wander endlessly in the darkness and asks Satan how he will travel without anything to light his way. Satan mockingly tosses him an ember from the flames of Hell, one which will never burn out. Jack then carves out one of his turnips (which were his favorite food), puts the ember inside it, and begins his endless wandering of the earth, searching for a resting place.
This tartan, designed by Carol A.L. Martin, may evoke strong memories of the colours, smells, and textures of pumpkin carving, and the seeds within.
If you are carving your own pumpkin for a jack-o'-lantern this season, you can choose to roast the seeds for a Hallowe'en snack or use them in a Hallowe'en treat recipe for Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed Butter Cups.
Click the selection of jack-o'-lanterns for the recipe.