Jack o’ Lanterns - The Cultural Icon of Hallowe'en

Happy Hallowe’en! Tomorrow is All Hallow’s Eve, so what would be a better topic for this weeks history video than the symbol of this holiday. The Jack o’ Lantern is not only an iconic Hallowe’en decoration, but also shows the development of American culture in the 19th and 20th centuries.
I know this video isn’t about some kind of historically significant subject, but more of a history of a culturally significant subject. Most of my videos will be the former, but in the case of a holiday special, I felt like this was the perfect choice. Let me know what you thought about my Hallowe’en specials and if you’d like to see more next year! Have a fun and safe Hallowe’en, everyone!
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Script:
When it comes to this time of the year - All Hallow’s Eve - there is nothing more iconic than the Jack o’ Lantern. The traditions of carving jack o’ lanterns are a great example of the blending of cultures in 19th century America.
In the early 19th century, it is estimated pumpkins were first carved and lit for Hallowe’en time in both Ireland and Somerset, England. This practice came from old superstitions about warding off evil spirits. October 31st seemed the most significant time for this as it was on both the ancient celtic festival of Samhain when the spirits of the dead could return and on the eve of the Christian All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day when the dead were honoured. In 1835, the Irish legend behind the jack o’ lantern was first published. According to the story, a drunkard named Jack ran into the devil late one night. Depending on the variation of the story, Jack either tricked the devil to climb a tree or climb into his coin purse. Regardless, Jack trapped the devil with a cross and refused to let him go unless he promised he would never take Jack’s soul. When Jack eventually died, he had been too evil to get into heaven and couldn’t get into hell, so the devil gave him a burning coal and doomed him to wander the Earth for eternity. Jack carried the coal in a carved turnip which would supposedly inspire the carved pumpkins now prominent in 1830’s Britain.
In North America, the pumpkin and carved variation thereof was already closely associated with the Hallowe’en season. In Washington Irving’s 1820 story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the Headless Horseman wore a jack o’ lantern in place of his missing head. It wasn’t until 1834, however, that a carved pumpkin would be referred to as a “jack o’ lantern”. The end of the American Civil War saw an increasing interest in ghosts amongst all Americans, leading to the widespread adoption of Hallowe’en as a major holiday. This combined with the growing interest in carving pumpkins like the old Irish tradition led to jack o’ lanterns and Hallowe’en’s close association. 1866, the jack o’ lantern had become a symbol of Hallowe’en. An Ontario newspaper wrote of Hallowe’en festivities, mentioning “a great sacrifice of pumpkins from which to make transparent heads and face, lighted up by the unfailing two inches of tallow candle”. The popularity of the jack o’ lantern rapidly spread across the continent. An 1885 article noted “It is an ancient British custom to light great bonfires [...] but in place of this, American boys delight in the funny grinning jack-o’-lanterns made of huge yellow pumpkins with a candle inside”. Records in 1892 tell of a great Hallowe’en Party at the home of the mayor of Atlanta, Georgia decorated with grinning jack o’ lanterns. Even so, jack o’ lanterns were just synonymous with the harvest season in America, even being suggested as important decoration for Thanksgiving in an 1895 article. However, their place as an iconic Hallowe’en decoration would be the one to stick. In the early 20th century, this idea was solidified when young boys began dangling carved pumpkins from strings to try to scare neighbors and friends around Hallowe’en time. Although Hallowe’en hit a rough spot and lost popularity due to out of control pranks in the 1930’s and ‘40’s, by the ‘50’s, trick or treating made a safer way to celebrate the holiday and jack o’ lanterns filled the streets once more. Since then, as evidenced by abundant Hallowe’en decorations and holiday specials such as 1966’s It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, jack o’ lanterns have been the iconic face of Hallowe’en.

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Yes, please do more next year or I will find you