JACK O' LANTERNS
A CLASSIC REIMAGINED
A Halloween Tradition
Carving Jack O' Lanterns dates back to the old Celtic holiday, Samhain. For this precursor to Halloween, people would often carve scary looking turnips, lighting them up with candles, in order to ward off spirits. When the Irish came to America, they found that pumpkins being grown here were an even better medium to carve. They adapted the custom to utilize the beautiful pumpkins that were now available to them.
Long before social media, DMs, or text messages, people would send each other hand written messages on the backs of wonderfully illustrated postcards and many of these were in celebration of Halloween. These beautiful postcards dating back from the late 1800s through early 1900s, give us a glimpse into the past traditions of Halloween. Some of these original postcards still exist and are now highly sought after collectibles!