Hey, hey! Happy Halloween,
people! :D :D hope you all have fun Halloweening. BTW, anyone know the History
behind it? I bet of course you guys know but how about the rest? But don’t worry,
I’m not going to talk about the History but heard of Jack-o’-lantern? Yea, that
thing/guy/dude. Somehow, the History behind it intrigued me :) The story is supposedly
similar to Will-o’-the-wisp and it’s been retold in different versions around
the world, mainly in the UK.
Quoted from Wikipedia, “An old
Irish folk tale tells of Stingy Jack, a lazy yet shrewd farmer who uses a cross
to trap the Devil. One story says that Jack tricked the Devil into climbing an
apple tree, and once he was up there Jack quickly placed crosses around the
trunk or carved a cross into the bark, so that the Devil couldn't get down.
Another tale says that Jack put a key in the Devil's pocket while he was
suspended upside-down.
“Another version of the story
says that Jack was getting chased by some villagers from whom he had stolen,
when he met the Devil, who claimed it was time for him to die. However, the
thief stalled his death by tempting the Devil with a chance to bedevil the
church-going villagers chasing him. Jack told the Devil to turn into a coin
with which he would pay for the stolen goods (the Devil could take on any shape
he wanted); later, when the coin/Devil disappeared, the Christian villagers
would fight over who had stolen it. The Devil agreed to this plan. He turned
himself into a silver coin and jumped into Jack's wallet, only to find himself
next to a cross Jack had also picked up in the village. Jack had closed the
wallet tight, and the cross stripped the Devil of his powers; and so he was
trapped.
“In both folktales, Jack only
lets the Devil go when he agrees never to take his soul. After a while the
thief died, as all living things do. Of course, his life had been too sinful
for Jack to go to heaven; however, the Devil had promised not to take his soul,
and so he was barred from hell as well. Jack now had nowhere to go. He asked
how he would see where to go, as he had no light, and the Devil mockingly
tossed him an ember that would never burn out from the flames of hell. Jack carved
out one of his turnips (which were his favorite food), put the ember inside it,
and began endlessly wandering the Earth for a resting place. He became known as
"Jack of the Lantern", or Jack-o'-lantern.
“Jack-o-lanterns were also a way
of protecting your home against the Undead. Superstitious people used them
specifically to ward away vampires. They thought this because it was said that
the Jack-o-lantern's light was a way of identifying vampires and, once their
identity was known, they would give up their hunt for you.”
So, there you have it! Jack-o’-lantern!
So, before you carve a pumpkin, just think of ol’ Jack ‘ere. But it’s not like
it matters. HAHA! Anyway, have a splendid Halloween :) but remember, just be
careful. You might actually bump into a real ghost while Trick-o-treating.
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (laugh it in a cackle-with type of way).
Random Fact: Link to the history
behind Halloween ;) http://www.halloweenhistory.org/
