There’s a lot of blurring between Halloween and Samhain, and this is especially true on Instagram. In fact, Samhain is the only festival that Stewart and Janet Farrar suggested celebrating on a different date, mostly so that observances would not be interrupted by trick or treaters.
So how have pumpkins come to be associated with both festivals and this time of year?
It has been suggested that at around November 1st, the Celts carved faces into turnips and put candles inside to distract wandering spirits. It was believed that the souls of those who had died that year traveled to the otherworld, and some souls would return to their homes.
We also have the story of Stingy Jack, a mythical creature associated with All Hallows’ Eve. The story goes that Jack, a devious and manipulative drunkard living in Ireland several centuries ago, cleverly tricked Satan into turning himself into a coin to pay for Jack’s drinking, which ultimately spared Jack’s soul from Satan, but also stopped it from entering heaven. Jack was left to roam in limbo, with only an ember, which he placed in a hollowed out turnip to light the way. The ghostly figure was known as Jack of the Lantern, then later Jack O’Lantern.
Jack used the lantern to guide his soul, in the same way that the lit turnips of the Celts would guide spirits, and scare off evil spirits.
European traditions made their way across the Atlantic with Irish and Scottish immigrants in the mid-1800s, and pumpkins - native to North America and absolutely perfect for lanterns - were used, and I guess eventually found their way back to the UK. Turnip, potato and beet “pumpkins” were all carved in the UK long before regular pumpkins were used.
I’m a day late but I’m going to tag @pagan.parenting for their October challenge. Their theme for the first week was “Harvest”, and this gorgeous pumpkin patch will be harvested very soon.
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