Your Kids Say: All About Jack-o-Lanterns

Many are picking up pumpkins from to eat and to play with this season. Though painting pumpkins are a must for young children, carving pumpkins is another favorite traditional Halloween activity for both young and old. The carved pumpkins–from scary faces to funny faces and to intricate designs–are lit up at night, also known as jack-o-lanterns.

According to History.com, 'jack-o-lanterns' derived from an Irish folktale involving a man named Stingy Jack who tricked the devil in which Stingy Jack was not allowed into hell or heaven. The devil then sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern."

Your Kids Say is a video feature for Marple Newtown Patch. Each week, we’ll seek answers from local kids to see what they have to say on a certain topic. Our last topic, we