How did the Halloween tradition of carving pumpkins start?

Kainantu

WHAT IS ITS HISTORY? Halloween is a secular celebration based on ancient Druid customs, dating back to 700 B.C. The Druids, a Celtic religious order in ancient Britain, Ireland and France, believed that the souls of the dead returned to mingle with the living on 'hallowed eve,' October 31. People originally dressed in costumes to disguise themselves from these spirits. Halloween first was celebrated in the United States in the 1840s, when Irish Catholics, fleeing from the potato famine, brought Halloween customs with them to America. The tradition of carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns originated with Irish children who first carved out the centers of rutabagas, turnips and potatoes and placed candles inside. http://pressroom.hallmark.com/halloween_fact_sheet.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The tradition of carving pumpkins (in Britain, turnips were used until the discovery of the Americas brought the alternate pumpkin we know so well today) began as a practice to scare away evil spirits from the {home;} leaving a candle burning in a window over Samhain keeps away the bad spirits, and wrms the good ones, bringing luck to the household http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/7949/samhain.html Sep 30 02, 2:58 AM

Bill	Halloween is Hallowed Eve the day before All Saint's Day. The belief was that before the Saints would come out the Evil Spirits would. So it could'nt be from a Druid ceremony hundreds of years before Christ. Sep 30 02, 3:40 AM

kiwi in oz

Bill I hate the one but Kainantu is correct. Christianity came and took over my ancestors beliefs. Christmas is celebrated on top of the Summer solstice. Does any one really know for a fact that JC was born on 25 dec. or more correctly on December moon. Easter is celebrated to cover up the (northern) spring equinox, etc etc etc. Christianity realised it could not just ban the people from worshipping the goddess so they just out celebrated her. nearly every Druidic festival coincides with Christian one. Funny that. Sep 30 02, 7:23 AM

kiwi in oz

aquick correction on my last posting. Kainantu I was not implying i hated you I meant to say I hate to be the one to tell Bill but..... Sep 30 02, 7:24 AM

Gnomon

Kiwi, you ask does anyone know for a fact when JC was born? No. There is nothing in the bible to say when Christ was born. The date of 25 Dec was adopted because it was already an important festival in Rome (Saturnalia) and the Christians wanted to take it over and Christianise it. Sep 30 02, 8:04 AM

Gnomon

Kainantu, turnips were still used as lanterns in Ireland until about 1980 when pumpkins started being imported specially from America. Pumpkins make better lanterns, because they are much easier to carve and bigger than turnips. Sep 30 02, 8:06 AM