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History

Andy,

There's a lot more to it, but basically the Jack-o-lantern has come to 
represent a grotesque good luck symbol created by the celts (formerly a 
tribe of warrior hunters) in Britan around 1400 B.C., and has to do with the 
Celtic New Year.

They were created from every sort of material, severed heads of vanquished 
foes, stone, clay, metal and vegtables like the turnip.

Later the Turnips were hollowed out partitially filled with tallow and 
carved into grotesque masks,( the more uguly the better ),and carried, along 
with sacrificial offerings, to Stonehenge. They were lit with flame from the 
sacred fire, and were poked and wavied in the air at night to conquer the 
darkness.

Why Grotesque? For the expression of aggression, much like the Gargoyle.

October 31 has become more innocent. Over the centuries, the somber aspects 
of the eve of the Celtic Samhain and the Christian All-Hallow's Eve which 
succeeded it have given way to the lighhearted celebration of Halloween. 
When immigrants from Ireland and Scotland arrived on American shores, they 
replaced the turnip of their traditional harvest celebration with the 
pumpkin, which was more readily available and easier to carve and hollow 
out.

An Irish legend explains the name. Jack, so the story goes, could not enter 
Heaven, because he was a miser. Nor could he enter Hell, because he had 
played jokes on the Devil. As a result, Jack had to walk the earth with his 
lantern until Judgement Day. The "Jack-O-Lantern became an intergral part of 
American folk art.    

Credits,
Sam Gendusa  

						Bob T.
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