The tradition of the Jack O'Lantern was brought to America by the Irish. 

As one legend goes, it all started 2000 years ago in Celtic Ireland with Stingy Jack, a man who liked to play tricks on his family, friends and even the devil . Once he made the devil  promise not to take Jack's soul when he died.

When Jack finally died years later, he first went to the gates of heaven. But Saint Peter told him he had been too mean and too cruel and had led a bad life on earth and would not be allowed to enter heaven.

So Jack  went down to hell and the devil. The devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter hell.

Now Jack was scared because he had to wander about forever in the darkness between heaven and hell. He asked the devil if he could not give him some light. The devil threw a glowing piece of coal from the flames of hell at him. Jack placed the coal in a hollowed-out turnip, one of his favourite foods which he always carried around with him.

From that day onward Stingy Jack - Jack of the Lantern - has been wandering around the earth without a resting place, lighting his way with his turnip.

The Celts celebrated their new year on November 1. They believed that on the night before - All Hallow's Eve - the ghosts of the dead and evil spirits returned to earth to cause trouble and damage crops. To ward off  these evil spirits  - including Stingy Jack - the Irish began the custom to place vegetable lanterns with scary faces into windows and gardens. They hollowed out turnips, potatoes or beets, carved faces into them and put glowing coals inside.

In the 1800's the first Irish emigrated to America and took the tradition with them. They quickly replaced the turnips with pumpkins, which were much bigger and easier to carve out.

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