[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-486516-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-486516-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","the-history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-read-online-free","The History of the Jack-o'-Lantern - read online free","","The article traces how jack-o'-lanterns began in Ireland and Scotland using turnips, potatoes, and beets carved with grim faces, lit by a coal or candle to “flicker” in the dark. It explains the legend of Stingy Jack and why families displayed lanterns to ward off roaming spirits. After Irish and Scottish immigrants arrived in America, pumpkins replaced turnips because they were cheaper, easier to carve, and roomier, turning the custom into a national Halloween tradition. Today, giant pumpkins, elaborate carvings, and a few continued turnip traditions preserve the story’s newest chapter.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/","Literature",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-read-online-free/486516/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-read-online-free/486516.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"ahduag","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What vegetables were used in the very first jack-o'-lanterns?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The earliest jack-o'-lanterns were carved from turnips, potatoes, and beets in Ireland and Scotland.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Why did pumpkins replace turnips after immigrants arrived in America?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Pumpkins were cheaper, softer to carve, and roomier than turnips, making carving faster and the glow brighter.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How does the article connect the legend to Halloween traditions?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It says people carved and displayed lanterns to keep the story of Stingy Jack alive and to ward off Jack and other roaming spirits on Halloween night.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},486516,1790917822,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,91,95,100,105,110,115,120,123,127],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":90},80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":92,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":124,"slug":126},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":128,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":130},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":132},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":133,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":26,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":111,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},3985747870414,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Picture a Halloween without a single carved pumpkin glowing on the porch. Sounds impossible, right? Yet the very first jack-o'-lanterns were not pumpkins at all, and they didn't come from America. They were small, gnarled turnips, potatoes, and beets, hollowed out and carved with grim little faces in Ireland and Scotland. A glowing ember or a tiny candle was tucked inside, so the vegetable seemed to flicker to life in the dark.  \nThose flickering faces weren't just for decoration, because people carved them to keep a  \nlegend alive. Storytellers spoke of a clever trickster called Stingy Jack, a man so slippery that he outsmarted the Devil himself. According to the tale, Jack was refused a place in either the good or the bad afterlife, so he was left to wander the earth with only a burning coal to light his way. He carried that coal inside a carved turnip, and people began calling the wandering light \"Jack of the Lantern. \" To ward off Jack and other roaming spirits on Halloween night, families set their own carved lanterns in windows and doorways.  \nCarrying that flickering turnip across an ocean changed everything about it. In the mid-1800s, waves of Irish and Scottish families sailed to America, many escaping a terrible potato famine back home. They packed their customs along with their belongings, including the habit of carving glowing faces each autumn. But when they arrived, they discovered a vegetable that grew big, round, and hollow almost by design: the pumpkin. Native to the Americas, the pumpkin was cheaper, softer to carve, and far roomier than a stubborn little turnip.  \nTrading the turnip for the pumpkin turned a modest custom into a national sensation. A pumpkin's thick, moist walls slice like butter compared to a rock-hard root, so a family could carve a face in minutes instead of an hour. Its wide belly held a bigger candle, throwing a brighter, warmer glow across the porch. By the late 1800s, magazines and newspapers were describing carved pumpkins as part of American Halloween, and the tradition spread from town to town. In my view, few switches in holiday history have paid off so well, because the pumpkin practically begged to be carved.  \nEvery October, that humble swap still lights up millions of front steps around the world. Growers now compete to raise giant pumpkins, and the heaviest ones on record have topped 2,800 pounds, heavier than a small car. Artists carve them into dragons, portraits, and haunted scenes far fancier than any turnip could hold. Meanwhile, in parts of Ireland and Scotland, some people still carve turnips the old way, keeping the original spooky faces alive. So the next time you scoop out a pumpkin, remember you're holding the newest chapter of a story that once glowed inside a tiny turnip.  \nThe History of the Jack-o'-Lantern  \nName:  \n\n| Solve each problem.\u003Cbr>Use the article to answer the question.\u003Cbr>1) According to the passage, what were the very first jack-o'-lanterns made from?\u003Cbr>A. Gourds imported from Scotland\u003Cbr>B. Turnips, potatoes, and beets carved with faces\u003Cbr>C. Squash hollowed out with candles\u003Cbr>D. Pumpkins grown on American farms |  |  |  |  | Answers\u003Cbr>1.  \u003Cbr>2.  \u003Cbr>3.   |  |  |  |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| 2) Which detail explains why the pumpkin replaced the turnip in America?\u003Cbr>A. It was the only vegetable the immigrants could afford\u003Cbr>B. It was cheaper, softer to carve, and roomier than a turnip\u003Cbr>C. It could be grown indoors during the cold winter months\u003Cbr>D. It matched the colors of the autumn harvest festivals |  |  |  |  | 4.  \u003Cbr>5.  \u003Cbr>6.   |  |  |  |  |  |\n| 3) Which statement best expresses the central idea of the whole passage?\u003Cbr>A. Pumpkins are the easiest vegetable to grow and to carve\u003Cbr>B. Irish immigrants faced many hardships after leaving their homeland\u003Cbr>C. A carving custom that began with turnips changed into the pumpkin tradition known today\u003Cbr>D. Legends about tricksters shaped man","cbCaifXxPqXHQrX0","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifXxPqXHQrX0","pdf",94408,"English","# Introduction\n## Origins in Ireland and Scotland\n## The Stingy Jack legend\n## Why pumpkins replaced turnips\n## Spread of the tradition in America\n## Modern carving practices","[{\"question\":\"What vegetables were used in the very first jack-o'-lanterns?\",\"answer\":\"The earliest jack-o'-lanterns were carved from turnips, potatoes, and beets in Ireland and Scotland.\"},{\"question\":\"Why did pumpkins replace turnips after immigrants arrived in America?\",\"answer\":\"Pumpkins were cheaper, softer to carve, and roomier than turnips, making carving faster and the glow brighter.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article connect the legend to Halloween traditions?\",\"answer\":\"It says people carved and displayed lanterns to keep the story of Stingy Jack alive and to ward off Jack and other roaming spirits on Halloween night.\"}]","The History of the Jack-o'-Lantern - read online free | PDF",1790806543,12]