Pumpkins are a mainstay of the fall season. Whether they’re blended with spice and milk in Starbucks’ famed Pumpkin Spice Latte or sold for $6 outside of Whole Foods, pumpkins infiltrate and dominate American culture once the calendar flips to September. However, this pumpkin craze has its roots in a more traditional facet of Halloween: the jack o’ lantern. Of the approximately 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkins grown annually in the United States, millions of pumpkins are hollowed out and carved with a candle inside to create jack o’ lanterns, commonly seen flickering on front door steps and walkways.
While pumpkins are not considered as American as apple pie or baseball, they are native to North America and were present long before the National Association of Base Ball Players formed in the 1860s. However, the seemingly distinct American tradition of removing pumpkin innards and sculpting their exterior evolved overseas, in Ireland and Scotland. The practice of carving jack o’ lanterns can be traced to the Scottish myth of “Stingy Jack.” The legend follows Jack as he tricks the Devil twice, trapping him in a wallet and treeing him, resulting in a guarantee that the Devil would never claim Jack’s soul. Post-mortem, Jack found himself barred from Heaven and Hell, and he is said to be traversing the Earth still with only a hollowed-out turnip for light.
Jack’s tale was popularized in America in the 1880s during a large wave of immigration. Thanks to the presence of pumpkins, the jack o’lantern evolved from carved beets, turnips, and potatoes to pumpkins. The practice quickly caught on in United States culture, manifesting itself in animated specials like the 1966 “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” or the oft-used jack o’ lantern candy containers, first mass-produced in the early 1900s. However, as jack o’ lanterns gained a foothold in American culture, they lost their grip in the United Kingdom, fading from cultural consciousness. “I generally don’t have much of an opinion on jack o’ lanterns, as they aren’t a particular big thing at home,” comments Jenni Hampson, resident of Belfast, UK.
So what’s next for jack o’lanterns? Emily Fritze, a New Jersey high school senior, reports that sometimes she “makes jack o’ lanterns out of peppers.” Thousands of jack o’ lantern contests are held each year; pyrotechnics are a burgeoning sector of these competitions, as the “Bill Murray Pumpkin,” a 2013 winner of the extremepumpkins.com annual contest, can attest. Jack o’ lanterns have evolved from carved turnips to elaborately modeled pumpkins; only time will show what’s next.
Sources
http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/jack-olantern-history
http://www.allaboutpumpkins.com/facts.html
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/National_Association_of_Base_Ball_Players