The first Jack O'Lanterns were carved from Turnips (or arguably rutabagas)
According to legend, Jack was a wicked man, who managed to cheat the devil himself, and as a result, Satan agreed that he would never take Jack's soul to hell.
However, being such a wicked man, when he died, Jack found himself unable to gain entry to heaven. He pleaded with the devil to take him, but he reminded Jack that per their agreement, he could not take him to hell, and so with nowhere else to go, Jack would be doomed to wander the earth for all eternity.
Jack asked the devil to at least give him a lantern to light his way, and the devil tossed Jack a burning coal, which jack stuck inside of the turnip he had been eating when he died to use as a makeshift lantern.
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When my wife and I first moved in together, we had a small apartment without much room on our patio for Jack O'Lanterns. Undeterred, I went back to the original concept and started carving turnips, which fit much better on the outside of our windowsill.
To hollow them out I use a forstner bit that's a little bigger than the LED tea lights I stick in them.
I think they have a lot more character and are a lot creepier than pumpkins.
We call them a Tumshie in Scotland! And looking good indeed. I like to use an ice cream scoop for mine, and a wee serated sharp knife - watch those fingers!
I'm curious how common they are in Scotland, is it still something that a lot of people do or is it more of a niche thing for eccentric history buffs like myself?
Also, I may be wrong, but I think the turnips you have in Scotland are more like what we usually call a rutabaga, so they're a bit bigger. I did actually do a rutabaga lantern one year and carved it all out by hand to have the experience, it came out well but made me appreciate how fast it is hollowing out my little turnips with a drill.
Unfortunately I forgot to take any picture of that one so it's lost to the ages.
Definitely rarer. Pumpkins are probably 95% of what is carved, maybe more! And yes, naming of a neep, a turnip, a rutabaga, a swede! Is a cultural thing. It's a neep to me, a teuchtar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabaga
Love the smell of these when they're lit. Brings back memories.
Räbeliechtli here, Switzerland.
When I moved to Scotland from Canada I had no idea what a turnip/neep fucking looks like. Imagine my surprise (and my wife's amusement) when I bought the wrong thing home for Burn's night...🤦