Halloween and the Tale of Old Stingy Jack by Maura O'Hare

It's that time of year. The time where kids start scrolling through the internet for the best costume ideas, and parents will spend immense amounts of money on them. Halloween is celebrated every year on October 31st. Children all around the world wander the streets going door to door collecting candy. Halloween originated from an ancient Celtic festival in Northern Europe. It started with people lighting bonfires and wearing costumes to scare away ghosts. In most European countries today, Halloween is know as the time of year when the ghosts and spirits that live in our world can make contact with us. But us Americans usually just think of this day as a time to get free candy and dress up. Something I learned while researching this holiday, is that it actually is not an official holiday. Stores are open at normal times and transportation systems run on their daily schedules. Another thing I learned that many people don't know is that the saying "trick or treat" is actually a threat. If the children do not receive candy or a snack, they will do some harm to the person's house or property. The practice of carving pumpkins into Jack-O-Lanterns is a very common Halloween activity in America today. The idea of carving pumpkins originated in Ireland, from a tale known as the story of "Stingy Jack."  Pumpkins did not exist in this country so ancient cultures carved turnips instead. They did this the night before Halloween, known as "All Hallow's Eve" and they placed them in different spots to scare away evil spirits. The tale of Stingy Jack is quite an odd story. It was told that Jack was a mean. old, drunk man who enjoyed playing tricks on children and families. One day he tricked the Devil himself to climb up a tree. Once the Devil reached the top, Jack placed crosses on the bottom of the trunk so the Devil could not climb down. (The Devil was unable to touch crosses.) Jack made the devil promise to not take his soul when he died, and when he promised, Jack finally let the devil down. Once Stingy Jack had died, he was not allowed into heaven or hell. The devil gave him an ember from the fires of hell, that would help him see while roaming around in darkness for eternity. He placed the ember inside a turnip to make a lantern. And there you have it. A jack-o-lantern. This story was told mostly in Ireland to children the night before Halloween. But kids today will never know the real story the Jack-o-Lantern.
There's so many things you can learn about the history and stories behind Halloween, you just need to look. But this crazy holiday is fast approaching, so start carving your "Stingy" Jack-O-Lanterns, find you costumes and get ready to trick or treat.






Here's some websites you can look at to learn more...
https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/halloween
https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween
http://www.pumpkinnook.com/facts/jack.htm