As the spooky season dawns upon us it is once again that time of year for festive activities, such as pumpkin carving. In America pumpkin carving has come to be a traditional activity done during the Halloween Season. But how did this tradition come to be and where were its origins? The tradition of the jack o’ lantern [1] originated from Irish immigrants coming to America in the 19th century where they originally used turnips to carve the faces into. It later was switched to pumpkins as it was much easier to do on rather than a turnip and they liked how it looked more. They thought it looked prettier on a pumpkin. It grew in popularity and has become the beloved Halloween tradition we have today. In Irish culture jack o’ lanterns came from an old folktale. The story goes that a man called Stingy Jack tricked the devil twice. After this the devil refused to claim his soul when he died and [2] “sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as “Jack of the Lantern,” and then, simply “Jack O’Lantern.” The carving of the turnip was created as a way to spook off the spirit of Jack as he roamed the Earth. When Irish immigrants came to America variations of the story began to spread and many took inspiration for it within their own stories. One such story written by Washington Irving [3] “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, first published in 1820 and republished in 1858, propelled the pumpkin into American culture like never before.” This was the ultimate push the story needed to become solidified into American culture. As the years progressed and Halloween became a widely celebrated holiday the tradition of carving a pumpkin for the holiday grew into how we see it today. Now that you know the history of pumpkin carving you know it is the perfect family activity to get you and your kids in the Halloween spirit. You can even share the tale while carving your own jack o’ lanterns. If you’re not sure on how to carve a pumpkin or just need to refresh your memory you’ve come to the right place. This guide will give you all the steps you need to know to make this Halloween season a blast. By the end of this guide you’ll know all the tips and tricks on how to carve a great pumpkin.

What You’ll Need:

• Pumpkin of your choice
• Pencil, Marker, or Sharpie
• Spoon
• Bowl
• Knife or similarly sharp item (with sharp objects make sure to keep out of the reach of small children and supervise the cutting process)

Optional:

Candle or other type of light to make your pumpkin into a jack o’ lantern
Lighter or match for candle (keep these away from children and always blow out the candle when away from your jack o’ lantern)

Steps:

1. Once you collect all the items needed to carve your pumpkin you are ready to begin.
First you are going to hollow out the pumpkin. Take the marker and draw a circle at the top of the pumpkin. Then you’ll take the knife and cut around the circle. While you are doing this make sure to cut at an angle instead of straight up and down. This way the top of the pumpkin will not fall in when you are done.

2. Next you will take the spoon to remove the guts of the pumpkin. It is easier to begin by grabbing the majority of the seeds out with your hands, but if you prefer you can use the spoon. Keep your bowl close by to put the pumpkin guts into. Once the majority of the pumpkin guts are out you can scrape the remaining scraps off with the spoon. When the inside of the pumpkin is smooth you are ready to move on to the next step.

3. Next you will take your marker and draw the face you would like to cut out onto the pumpkin. This will give you an outline for where to cut.

4. Take the knife and begin to cut out the face design. Use slow up and down motions to cut out the pieces. Put the cutout pieces into the bowl with the other discarded pumpkin guts.

5. Now your pumpkin carving is done! You can put a light in the pumpkin’s center and place the pumpkin top back on if you would like to turn your pumpkin into a jack o’ lantern.

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: What do we do with the pumpkin before cutting it?
A: Store the pumpkin out of sunlight so that it doesn’t go bad.

Q: What do we do with the pumpkin guts in the bowl?
A: You can keep the seeds to plant pumpkins for next year or look up recipes to eat them.

Q: What do we do with the pumpkin once Halloween is over?
A: The pumpkin should still be alright for a couple weeks! Once it starts to decay you can compost it or bring it to a local farm where they can use it to feed the animal. That way no pumpkin is put to waste.

 

 

Reference List

[1] K. Le, “How the jack-O-lantern was created,” Dumpling Connection, https://www.dumplingconnection.com/articles/how-the-jack-o-lantern-was-created/#:~:text=The%20story%20of%20the%20Jack,spirits%20or%20other%20unwanted%20visitors. (accessed Oct. 10, 2023).
[2] “How Jack O’Lanterns originated in Irish myth,” History.com, https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins (accessed Oct. 10, 2023).
[3] B. Bachelor, “The history of American jack-o’-lanterns,” Travel, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/the-twisted-transatlantic-tale-of-american-jack-o-lanterns (accessed Oct. 10, 2023).