How the Jack O’Lantern Kept Christianity Alive
My friends, I don’t mind telling you that we find ourselves in a culture war. The forces of radical atheism again threaten to rob this great country of the symbols of it’s freedom and it’s proud Christian heritage. If these people have their way all traces of Halloween’s Christian roots would be erased and all references to Jesus would be stricken from Halloween parades, store displays, and the hopeful mouths of trick or treating Christian children. We must all stand together against this atheistic tyranny.
One of the stories, atheists don’t want you to know is the story of the Jack O’Lantern. In Ireland, Christians were persecuted for many centuries. One of the reasons that St. Patrick was celebrated for driving the snakes from Ireland is because they used to feed Christian children to the snakes. Christians were kept poor and not allowed to hold jobs. Their possessions were simple, but their faith was mighty.
As the Irish traveled along the countryside at autumn harvest time looking for work picking crops, they were frequently met with signs that said Christians need not apply. Even a non-Christian who hired a Christian to pick his crops faced persecution from the Irish King. The Irish needed a subtle symbol to let others know that they welcomed Christians and that the light of Jesus shined within them. They came up with the idea of taking a pumpkin and carving a smiling face on it. They then placed a candle inside the pumpkin and placed it in the window.
The Irish named this pumpkin Jack of the Light or the Americanized version, “Jack O’ Lantern”. Nowadays, pumpkins are carved into the most grotesque and hideous shapes imaginable and the original meaning of the Jack O’Lantern has been lost. This Halloween if you carve a pumpkin with your children I hope you’ll tell them the story of how the Jack O’Lantern saved Christianity in Ireland–one of the most Christian nations in the world today.
Oh, Nate, Nate, Nate
equa yona
October 26, 2009 at 10:04 pm
It’s been a long time Nate, but I’m glad to see that you consider Catholics Christians.
steve
October 26, 2009 at 10:18 pm
What site did you use for this information?
1minionsopinion
October 27, 2009 at 7:09 am
I got it from an old children’s book, Why God Loves the Cactus by Rev. E.E. Sloan. It also had this moving poem:
I am a Jack O’ Lantern
My light will shine so bright
For I am a Christian pumpkin
My symbols tell what’s right.
My nose is like the cross
on which the Savior died
To set us free from sin
We need no longer hide.
My mouth is like a fish
The whole wide world to show
That Christians live in this house
And love their Savior so!
The story starts at Christmas
My eyes are like the star
That shone on Baby Jesus
And wise men saw from far.
My color it is orange
Just like the big bright sun
That rose on Easter Day
Along with God’s own Son
thatsrightnate
October 27, 2009 at 7:26 am
Nate, I thought you didn’t read books! But hurray for Christian pumpkins! I’ll talk about this with an American teacher at our school who refused to decorate his classroom with Halloween motives because he thought it was a pagan festivity.
Lola
October 27, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Christian Pumpkin?!?!?!? That’s like saying “Jewish Christmas Tree”. Go ahead and make the Druid pumpkin farmers rich if you want to. I’m still anti-Jack O Lantern.
wrecksracer
October 27, 2009 at 2:58 pm
As a matter of personal responsibility, pageant girls do not celebrate Halloween. It encourages obesity and discourages children from looking lovely by allowing them to dress as monsters, witches, and bananas. There’s nothing Christian about gluttony or ugliness.
cecily
October 27, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Much obliged. It’s worthwhile to state sources ahead of time, otherwise it looks like you came up with it all yourself.
Cheers.
1minionsopinion
October 27, 2009 at 4:56 pm
“Much obliged. It’s worthwhile to state sources ahead of time, otherwise it looks like you came up with it all yourself.
Cheers.”
Thanks, I’ll try and do that in the future to avoid any confusion.
thatsrightnate
October 27, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Lola, it was a small book and I didn’t read it as much as have it read to me. Wrecks–God loves us all, even the squash.
thatsrightnate
October 27, 2009 at 8:41 pm
[...] my longtime readers know, Halloween is very important to me. There is a radical atheist movement in this country that is trying to remove all traces of Halloween… from the holiday. This year I decided that I would give all trick or treaters Chick Tracts. [...]
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October 31, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Amazingly silly.
Feed Christian children to snakes? There were no Anacondas or pythons in Irland. In fact, there were no snakes in Irland before St Pat
gaypaganunitarianagnostic
November 1, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Actually, if you read your history the reason there are no snakes in Ireland is because of St. Pat.
thatsrightnate
November 1, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Story of the Jack-o-lantern according to the History Channel: http://www.history.com/content/halloween/the-jack-o-lantern/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern
It makes perfect sense that it originates from Irish folklore. I don’t believe the story you found is correct, because of the fact that pumpkins are native to North America. Faces were carved into turnips until Irish immigrants came to America and started using pumpkins instead.
That being said, we can Christianize most things. I learned somewhere than Jack-o-laterns were the faces of trapped, possessed souls. When my roommates decided to carve pumpkins this year, we flipped that meaning and carved happy expressions to show that our little pumpkins were saved souls.
My German roommates know pumpkin-carving as a USA Halloween tradition. The only pumpkin I ever carved though, was during school in the 2nd grade. Personally, I don’t like celebrating Halloween after having read the history of it. I didn’t want the pumpkins, but my roommates did, so we just kind made the joke for me, that the pumpkins now represent saved souls. I got some delicious homemade, German pumpkin soup out of it!
Also, here is a good article worth checking out, from Christianity Today. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/octoberweb-only/42.0.html
Texian
November 4, 2009 at 7:35 pm
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