Legend of Jack O'lantern

According to the Pumpkin Nook: 

Jack O'Lantern legend goes back hundreds of years in Irish History. Many of the stories, center round Stingy Jack. 

Here's the most popular story:

Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who took pleasure in playing tricks on just about everyone: family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself. One day, he tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree. After the Devil climbed up the tree, Stingy Jack hurriedly placed crosses around the trunk of the tree. Unable to touch a cross, the Devil was stuck in the tree. Stingy Jack made the Devil promise him not to take his soul when he died. Once the devil promised not to take his soul, Stingy Jack removed the crosses, and the Devil climbed down out of the apple tree.

Many years later, Jack died, he went to the pearly gates of Heaven and was told by Saint Peter that he was mean and cruel, and had led a miserable, worthless life on earth. Stingy Jack was not allowed to enter heaven. He then went down to Hell and the Devil. The Devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter Hell. Now Jack was scared . He had nowhere to go, but to wander about forever in the dark Netherworld between heaven and hell. He asked the Devil how he could leave, as there was no light. The Devil tossed him an ember from the flames of Hell, to help Stingy Jack light his way. Jack had a Turnip with him. It was one of his favorite foods, and he always carried one with him. Jack hollowed out the Turnip, and placed the ember the Devil had given him, inside the turnip. From that day onward, Stingy Jack roamed the earth without a resting place, lighting his way as he went with his "Jack O'Lantern".

On all Hallow's eve, the Irish hollowed out Turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets. They placed a light in them to ward off evil spirits and keep Stingy Jack away. These were the original Jack O'Lanterns. In the 1800's a couple of waves of Irish immigrants came to America. The Irish immigrants quickly discovered that Pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve out. So they used pumpkins for Jack O'Lanterns.

The truth about Halloween?

There are many versions of how Halloween came to be but most of them agree that the Celtic Druids gave it an evil start.

Halloween is by definition "All Hallow's Eve" meaning the day before (eve of)  "All Saint's Day".  Now, the thought of a day for celebrating all the saints sounds quite holy (hallowed) and that would be the complete opposite of what pagans believe; so, what are they to do? They would celebrate their socks off the day before.

On this day, the souls of the dead were suppose to revisit their homes. It was a time for the living to placate the demonic supernatural powers that came with the dead souls with lavish displays of food. While the dead wreaked havoc on the living, they did so with masks and disguises to keep their identity a secret.
Another version goes like this:

In Ireland especially, people thought that ghosts and spirits roamed after dark on Halloween. They lit candles or lanterns to keep the spirits away, and if they had to go outside, they wore costumes and masks to frighten the spirits or to keep from being recognized by these unearthly beings.

Trick-or-treating has its roots in Druid history, too. The Druids (pagan priests) would use a candle in a gourd to light their way when they went to ask for materials for their great bonfire or food. If you gave them what they wanted, the priests would be on their merry way. But if you didn't comply, they would leave the gourd on your doorstep and someone in that house would die before the next Hallowed Eve. That sounds like fun, don't you think!

There are many versions and opinions about this holiday. Churches have alternate parties on the day. Some churches hand out tracts instead of candy. Are they right? I don't know.

I can only tell you my opinion, which is based on the contradictions of the Bible vs the holiday. God's laws concerning witches is very clear.

“You shall not permit a sorceress to live." - Exodus 22:18

He wants us to rely solely on Him--that means not knowing what tomorrow will bring or what dead relatives have to say. Witchcraft is about knowing the future and changing what you don't want; diametrically opposed to what God wants.
As far as I am concerned, this day we dress our children up as characters that God wanted struck down, has nothing to do with Christianity, no matter how you spin it.

Disclaimer: This is my blog and my opinions. You are  allowed to disagree with me but I will not publish comments that are not civil.