The History of Pumpkin Carving

Traditional pumpkin carving suggests that pumpkins were thought to be the heads of the Halloween holiday. This ghostly carved pumpkin head was called the Jack-o-Lantern and it has now become part and parcel of the Halloween decoration ritual. Although Halloween has been evolving throughout the years, there is a distinct path that can be followed to discover the history of pumpkin carving.

Halloween has long been celebrated as a natural holiday by the ancient Celts and it represents the end of summer and harvesting a new bounty. Therefore it is only natural that jack-o-lanterns will be carved out of this last year's harvested fruits and vegetables: pumpkins, gourds and turnips. Originally European settlers used gourds and turnips and when they arrived and discovered the pumpkin they found it to be easier to carve and create jack-o-lanterns.

The History of Pumpkin Carving on Halloween

It is hypothesized that often men used to carve pumpkins and wear them over their heads, with their body under water and their pumpkin head floating above the water. These men used such tactics to hunt for dunks, since ducks would not fear pumpkins in the water. The carved faces allowed the men to breathe under the pumpkin's thick walls.

Other sources mention the fact that jack-o-lanterns were carved pumpkins with pieces of burning coal and later candles in them, used to light the way for spirits on All-Hallow's-Eve also known as Halloween. These magical lanterns were used to light the way for the departed spirits of family members and friends to return to the earth for one night on Halloween, or October 31st. It also acted as a protection against evil spirits and ghosts. This tradition emphasized the beliefs of those who began the practice of carving pumpkins and making jack-o-lanterns: they believed in magic, in the spirits of friends and family and of the powers that govern the earth.

The history of pumpkin carving focuses on the evolution of the different faces that are often carved on pumpkins. Initially the faces on the pumpkins represented the face of a scarecrow, and were also sometimes placed at the top of a man-made scarecrow to scare off the crows in farmer's fields. Slowly, these faces evolved to incorporate different intricate patterns like bats, ghosts, black cats, witches, vampires, wizards, broomsticks, candy, and so on. Today there are various different pumpkin carving patterns that you can download and print and use to draw upon your pumpkins for use during your pumpkin carving.

The art of carving a pumpkin has come a long way, from its humble beginnings of carving gourds harvested from the season's bounty, through to being used to light the way for departed souls to come visit the living during Halloween, to scaring away the malevolent spirits and today as a great Halloween decoration in the form of a jack-o-lantern. Carving pumpkins is a great family activity to celebrate the changing seasons during the autumn and Halloween times because it creates strong bonds and fond memories for children and parents as well.