The tradition of pumpkin carving to make jack-o'-lantern on Halloween Day

31 October, 2012

Today, it is Halloween Day, which is associated with making jack-o'-lanterns and turnip lanterns with scary faces carved into them. They represent the spirits or fairies, and their presence is meant to protect oneself and one's home from the evil spirits.

THESE LANTERNS are traditionally associated with the holiday of Samhain and Halloween and named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs.

To make a jack-o'-lantern, the top of a pumpkin is cut off to work as a lid, and the inside flesh is then scooped out. An image, usually a monstrous and frightening face, is carved out in the lower portion of the pumpkin, and the lid is replaced. A lamp or a candle is lighted within the carved pumpkin.

In the olden days jack-o'-lanterns put on windowsills to keep the evil spirits out of one's home. But many historians hold that the carved pumpkins were first associated with the harvest season before they became an emblem of Halloween.

These days, more complex pumpkin carvings depicting some figures, symbols, and logos are in fashion with a variety of tools being used to carve and hollow out the gourd, ranging from simple knives and spoons to specialized instruments.

Many people use printed stencils available in the market for increasingly complex designs. Sometimes a chimney is carved in the pumpkin to let the hot air of the candle or lamp out.