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Icy Sedgwick

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jack o'lantern

Why do we use the jack o’ lantern at Halloween?

October 19, 2019 by Icy Sedgwick 13 Comments

The Jack o' Lantern, like trick or treating and fancy dress, is synonymous with Halloween. But why do we use them, and where does the custom come from?

Alongside cats and broomsticks, carved pumpkins have become synonymous with Halloween. Making a jack o’ lantern is no longer related to the important job of protecting hearth and home. Instead, people compete to make the scariest or most artistic lantern. Seriously, check out some amazing carved pumpkin art on Pinterest.

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Filed Under: Folklore Tagged With: #FolkloreThursday, folklore, halloween, halloween series, jack o'lantern

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Who is Icy Sedgwick?

icy sedgwick

Icy is a folklore blogger and host of the Fabulous Folklore podcast. She is based in the north east of England, where she was born and raised amid the folk tales and legends of Tyneside and Northumberland. Icy is fascinated by history, cinema, art, and the occult, and griffins will always be her favourite mythical beast. She also writes dark fantasy novellas, Gothic short stories and the occasional weird Western, and she holds a PhD in Film Studies!

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