The Story of the Jack-o-Lantern

When Jack died, he wasn't allowed into Heaven because he was such a miser: a person who wouldn't share his money.

It seems that Jack also had played tricks on the Devil, who wouldn't let him into hell, either.

Jack was stuck. He had to walk the earth, holding a lantern, until Judgment Day.

This is the story that has been handed down to us by the Irish people who came to America in the 1800s. They carved their turnips into the face of "Jack-of-the-lantern" to remind themselves what happened to people who were misers. And in the fall, pumpkins are much easier to find than turnips.

So that's why Americans today carve their pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns.

Graphics courtesy of ArtToday