The story of the jack-o’-lantern also has a strong connection to nature. In Ireland, there are large areas of wetlandsthat are often flooded. If you go into these areas at night, you can sometimes see dancing lights on the surface of the water. These lights are naturally caused by gases from plants. They have been known to lead travelers into deep waters where they drown. The lights were sometimes called jack-o’-lanterns because people thought they were lost souls wandering around.
The origins of Halloween gave jack-o’-lanterns a whole new purpose. The old festival of Samhain, which was celebrated around November 1 in Scotland and Ireland, is a time when the souls of the dead can come to walk the Earth. During this time, people would carve jack-o’-lanterns and put them in their windows to keepevil spirits away and keep their homes safe.
