Vintage Halloween postcard from my collection.

Halloween’s origins date back to the Celts, who lived in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and France 2,000 years ago.

The Celts believed the boundary between the living and the dead blurred the night before their New Year, November 1st.

On October 31st, or Celtic New Year’s Eve, they celebrated Samhain. People lit bonfires and wore costumes to ward off roaming ghosts.

In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1st as the time to honor all saints and martyrs, incorporating some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before became known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween.

The custom of creating jack-o’-lanterns originated from a fascinating Irish myth about an old drunk called “Stingy Jack,” who always tricked his drinking partner into paying.

That little habit got him into big trouble when Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink.

As the story goes, when it came time to pay, true to his name, Stingy Jack talked the Devil into turning himself into a coin which he could use to pay for their drinks. And then the story gets interesting … Jack dies.

Because he made deals with the devil, God won’t let him into heaven.

Because of the deal he made with the devil not to take his soul, he can’t go to hell.

So, Jack roams the dark Halloween night with a burning coal in a carved-out turnip. The Irish refer to his ghostly figure as “Jack of the Lantern,” or “Jack O’Lantern.”

On All Hallow’s Eve, the Irish hollowed out turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes, and beets, then placed a light inside to keep Stingy Jack away and ward off evil spirits.

Turnip Jack-o’-lanterns changed to pumpkin jack-o’-lanterns when Irish immigrants came to America in the 1800’s to escape the Potato Famine. They quickly discovered that pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve out.

And thus began our tradition of carving and lighting pumpkins for Halloween.