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Its actually the Latern of Jack.
Its from an old Irish legend of a man called Stingy Jack who tricked the devil into keeping him out of hell. After he dies though Satan remembers him and wont let him into hell and he was too bad to go to heaven. But he is given a live coal. Jack puts the coal into a gourd fruit (turnips pumpkins ECT) to carry about as he wanders the earth.
The tradition of carving jack o laterns was a way of telling Stingy Jack he had best move on. The scary faces were devised later to frighten away other less savory ghosts.
Jack O'Lanterns have been part of Halloween for hundreds of years in both the U.S. and Great Britain, where our familiar 'pumpkin lanterns' are often made from large turnips. The name 'Jack O'Lantern' is not nearly as old as Halloween and originally had nothing to do with the holiday. 'Jack O'Lantern' was a 17th century term for a night watchman, so called because he carried a lantern on his rounds. The term was also applied to 'will-o'-the-wisps,' the strange lights sometimes seen in swamps and graveyards at night, based on the belief that the lights seen were the lanterns carried by spectral Watchmen making their ghostly rounds. With such a spooky history, it's not surprising that Jack O'Lanterns became a fixture, and emblem, of Halloween.
Jack-o -lantern was originally carved in a Swede or turnip to make a lantern, Its associated with a fairly unknown occurance called will-o-the-wisp This was said to be related to the misterious lights seen across the peat bogs of Ireland caused by escaping gas. The term Jack is not a person but old English meaning to workon or carve. Therfore jack-o-lantern was to carve a lantern. Again this comes from Britain and Ireland
Jack o'lantern
1663, a local name for a Will-o-the-wisp mainly attested in East Anglia but also in southwestern England. The extension to carved pumpkins is 1837
Jack o lantern words are: lean, neat, ran, ton, lane, jock, jerk, jack, ant, earn, rack, lack, tack, near.
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What does the o mean in Jack-o'-lantern?
The "o" in Jack-o'-lantern is a shortened form of "of." So "Jack-o'-lantern" originally meant "Jack of the lantern," referencing a light source made from a carved pumpkin or turnip.
Halloween words that start with a j?
· Junior Mints (candy for trick or treat bag) · Jack-o-lantern
What is Jack-of-the-lantern contraction?
It is Jack-o’-lantern.
Where does the Jack-o'-lantern originate from?
the Jack o' lantern comes from Europe
What is the Jack o lantern mushroom?
the jack lantern is when you cut the pumpkin and take all the things in it and put the light in it that called jack o lantern
When was Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern created?
Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern was created in 1908.
Is a jack-o'-lantern an abstract noun?
No. A jack-o-lantern is not an idea, but a physical carved pumpkin.
What do you call an overweight jack-o'-lantern?
An overweight Jack-O-Lantern could also be called a 'Plumpkin'.
What is the plural form of jack-o'-lantern?
Jack-o-Lanterns
What is the difference between a Halloween leaf and a jack-o-lantern?
halloween leaf is a leaf and jack-o-lantern is a pumpkin
What did the people from Ireland and Scotland use for jack-o-lantern?
See the Wikipedia article: Jack-o'-lantern for details.
What happened to Jack of Jack-o-lantern fame?
The term Jack-O-Lantern is not a person nor was a person. The term Jack-O-Lantern was originally used to describe the unusual phenomenon ignis fatuus or "foolish fire" known as a will-o'-the-wisp in English folklore. This was used especially in East England, its earliest known use dates is circa 1660s. The term "will-o'-the-wisp" uses "wisp" which is a bundle of sticks or paper used as a flame torch and the proper name "Will", therefore, "Will-of-the-torch." However, the term Jack-O-Lantern is of the same type of construction. The "Jack of the lantern (Jack-O-Lantern) means to Jack (old English meaning to make or carve) the lantern - Jack-O-Lantern.
