Turnip lantern

The original Halloween Jack-O’-Lantern was first recorded in Ireland and was made from a turnip instead of a pumpkin. According to Irish legend, carved turnips were meant to ward of the evil spirit, “Jack of Lanterns.” After making a deal with the Devil, he was sentenced to roam the Earth for all eternity with nothing but a candle inside a carved turnip to light his way.

How to carve turnip lanterns for Halloween or as it's called on the Isle of Man, Hop tu Naa. Includes a DIY video

Turnip Jack O Lantern

How to easily hollow out and carve a turnip jack-o-lantern. These traditional European lanterns pre-date pumpkin carving and are scarier!

Many people herald Halloween as an Americanised festival of ghosts and ghouls – but did you realise that most of the activities associated with this time of year are rooted in European folklore and tradition?

@avocadostonefaces. Carve a turnip!

Before our European ancestors discovered pumpkins growing in the New World, they were carving faces in turnips and putting candles inside...

There is a great quote from the prolific and eminently quotable British writer G. K Chesterton about ghosts–or really belief– in general which references turnip ghosts in particular: I am quite ready to believe that a number of ghosts were merely turnip ghosts, elaborately prepared to deceive the village idiot. This is from a column in …

Family Lifestyle Blog

As the seasonal carving of pumpkins gets underway, an Irish folklife expert said there is evidence that the tradition, which is synonymous with Halloween jack-o-lanterns in the United States, actually began in Ireland.