Historical story

The Halloween Pumpkin was ... a Turnip!

Jack O ’Lantern and the devil. At the beginning, the symbol of Halloween was the turnip, then replaced by the pumpkin

Jack O ’Lantern is the name of the Halloween pumpkin :it always has a terrifying face and a lit candle inside.

Not everyone knows, however, that originally, the vegetable chosen to represent the anniversary that is celebrated every year on the night between October 31 and November 1, was a turnip.

It all started with an 'ancient Irish legend according to which a blacksmith, who had always lived in a dissolute way, on his deathbed he managed to make fun of the devil who, deceived by the cunning man, had finally had to give up stealing his soul.

It was said that the blacksmith had managed to find his way home by lighting the way with a carved turnip into which he had inserted a piece of burning coal, thus transforming it into a rudimentary torch.

The pumpkin replaced the initial turnip only in the 19th century, when the Irish who moved to America soon realized that the large orange vegetable, as well as easier to find than the other, was also softer and more comfortable to carve