An Irish Blessing for Hallowe'enAs the pumpkin was a new world plant, the orginal Irish Jack o'Lanterns were carved from turnips.
At all Hallow's Tide, may God keep you safe
From goblin and pooka and black-hearted stranger,
From harm of the water and hurt of the fire,
From thorns of the bramble, from all other danger,
From Will O' The Wisp haunting the mire;
From stumbles and tumbles
and tricksters to vex you,
May God in His mercy, this week protect you.
According to one Halloween legend, a notoriously mean-spirited blacksmith named Jack was doomed to wander the earth forever, finding his way through the darkness with only a hollowed-out turnip lit with an ember from hell's furnace. Whether to help guide Jack or to ward him off, people placed their own jack-o'-lanterns in doors and windows. You can use jack-o'-lanterns to safely lead trick-or-treaters straight to the goodies by lining your walkway with illuminated pumpkins. Or arrange clusters of small, carved pumpkins on your holiday table to cast a welcoming light for any visitor.
--Martha Stewart Living, October/November 1993
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By Bodrugan (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons Traditional Cornish Jack-o'-Lantern made from a turnip. Turnips were used throughout Scotland, Ireland, and England to hold lit candles, such as the one in Bodrugan's photo, a traditional Cornish Jack O' Lantern carved from a turnip. |
Quite interestingly, the 2007 Martha Stewart's Halloween issue gave instructions on page 31, for carving your own Turnip Jack o' Lantern.
How to Make Turnip Jack-o'-Lanterns
