The face of Halloween: Experts explain the history of pumpkin carving
Payton Counts
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The month of October is nearing an end, meaning Halloween is approaching and carved pumpkins are starting to glow in the night.
Pumpkins have become a true symbol of fall and Halloween, often seen with eyes, noses and crooked smiles on them.
Designs have come a long way over the years; pumpkin-carvers can now use pamphlets filled with pages of creative and complex patterns.
How did the tradition of carving pumpkins begin?
Halloween’s inception dates back over 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which later merged with Christian observances.
The carving tradition, however, started in Ireland with the folklore of Stingy Jack — a man who tricked the Devil and was doomed to roam the earth with only a burning coal inside a carved-out turnip.
To keep Jack and other wandering spirits away, the Irish began carving scary faces into turnips.
When Irish immigrants came to the United States, they brought the tradition with them. Pumpkins, native to North America, were easier to carve and soon replaced turnips as the face of Halloween.
St. Joseph has its own tradition celebrating pumpkins, known as Pumpkinfest.
For nearly three decades, the festival has brought joy to the community, with volunteers providing more than 1,000 pumpkins to light up two nights in October.
Cindy Daffron, executive director of the Pony Express Museum, said the tradition has grown across generations.
“For some people, this is a second generation deep, so people used to bring their children and now their children come home with the grandchildren. So now we have a carved pumpkin that we have to put out every year,” said Daffron.
Carving spooky faces into pumpkins has become a cherished Halloween tradition, not only across the U.S., but in St. Joseph.
Families in St. Joseph like to keep the spirit alive each year. “We pumpkin carve and we paint our pumpkins,” said Bailey Thornberry, a St. Joseph resident.
If you want to submit photos of your carved pumpkin, you can email them to share@newspressnow.com or our website.