Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America, home of the pumpkin, and it became an integral part of Halloween festivities. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul.
The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. Soon after, Jack died.
The Celts carved faces on large turnips and then hollowed out the inside of the vegetable so a candle could sit within it.
The light shining out through the carved faces scared away evil spirits. It also showed the way to their homes for the good spirits and for travelers. In , French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the St.
Lawrence region of North America. When the immigrants arrived in America and found a bountiful supply of pumpkins, they soon adopted the pumpkin as the best fruit and it is a fruit! Pumpkins belong to the gourd family, which includes cucumbers, honeydew melons, cantaloupe, watermelons, and zucchini.
The history of pumpkins and their use at Halloween contains a mixture of interesting facts and Celtic folklore. Find out how the pumpkin replaced the turnip in the Halloween story and discover more ways to use pumpkins. Pumpkins, which are a type of squash, were first found in the Americas, primarily in the area of Central America and Mexico. Native Americans carried pumpkin seeds into other parts of North America. They cut pumpkins into long strips and roasted them over a fire.
They also wove dried strips of pumpkin into mats. The Native Americans ate pumpkin seeds and also used them for medicine. Columbus took pumpkin seeds back to Europe, but they did not grow well there.
Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, found pumpkins in what is now part of Canada in He called them "pepons," a Greek word that means "large melons. It was the influence of Irish immigrants, however, that made the pumpkin a part of Halloween. Early Irish immigrants to the U. According to Irish folklore, Jack was a blacksmith who had tricked the devil on several occasions. The story says that when Jack died, he was denied entrance into both heaven and hell.
In Ireland, the ghoulish lights seen in swamps were said to be Jack's improvised lantern about about as he "found his own hell" in the countryside.
People soon subbed him and the mysterious lights as "Jack of the Lantern" or jack-o'-lantern. The tradition of Halloween originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.
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