The surprising story behind this beloved Halloween decoration
Learning Objective: Students will explain the relationship between events in a text using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
Photo by Cathy Scola/Getty Images (Left Jack-O’-Lantern); Shutterstock.com (Right Jack-O’-Lantern)
Halloween is almost here! If you celebrate, you might be planning the perfect Halloween costume.Or maybe you’ll be carving a pumpkin!
Making jack-o’-lanterns is a popular Halloween activity. Every fall, millions of Americans create one for the holiday. But where did this fun tradition come from?
Scary Winters
Halloween started more than 2,000 years ago in what is now the country of Ireland. People celebrated this holiday just before the start of winter.
Back then, winter was difficult . . . and scary! There was no electricity. So people couldn’t switch on lights when it got dark out early. And they couldn’t use heaters to keep warm. Many people also believed that winter was a time when ghosts walked the earth.
So as early as the 1600s, people started making jack-o’-lanterns for Halloween. The jack-o’-lanterns had scary faces. People believed they would scare away harmful spirits.
Early Jack-o’-Lanterns
The first jack-o’-lanterns were not made out of pumpkins. People used potatoes or turnips. They placed small candles inside and put the jack-o’-lanterns in front of their homes. If they were walking at night, they carried the jack-o’-lanterns with them. The jack-o’-lanterns were like flashlights!
But how did jack-o’-lanterns get their strange name? Some believe it comes from an old Irish tale. According to the story, a ghost named Jack wandered around the world. To light his way at night, Jack carried a turnip with a lamp, or lantern, inside. He was called “Jack of the Lantern.” Eventually, the name jack-o’-lantern was used for any carved-out vegetable with a light inside.
Still Popular
Jim McMahon/Mapman ®
During the 1800s, millions of people from Ireland moved to the United States. They brought their traditions with them. Over time, some of these traditions changed.
The newcomers started making their jack-o’-lanterns out of pumpkins instead of turnips or potatoes. Pumpkins are larger and easier to carve. After a while, others thought carving pumpkins looked fun and tried it too!
Today carving pumpkins for Halloween is still very popular. Many jack-o’-lanterns still have faces. But not all of them are scary. There are friendly or even silly ones. And you can find almost anything, from video game characters to emojis, carved into pumpkins.
What design would you carve into yours?
Jack-O'-Lantern Timeline
www.thebearandthefox.com
1600s: Jack-o’-lanterns made out of turnips
Penta Springs Limited/Alamy Stock Photo
1800s: Pumpkin jack-o’-lanterns
Visual Vic/Getty Images
Today: A popular Halloween activity
This story was originally published in the October/November 2026 issue.
