How to Make a Jack-o-lantern

Halloween is coming soon and a lot of people are thinking of fun things to do. There are so many fun things that you can do on Halloween it's hard to choose just one. Some things are a Halloween party, trick or treating, buying a costume, haunted houses and so on. There is one fun thing though that many kids love to do and that's making a jack-o-lantern. Jack-o-lanterns are pumpkins with scary or funny faces that light up. These are used as decorations inside or outside of a home and are usually a high point of Halloween. Jack -o-lanterns glow with a light inside so they can be seen pretty much anywhere at night. In this article I will write about the origin and the steps on how to create a jack-o-lantern.

I will first describe the origin of the jack-o-lantern and why we even have one today. The jack-o-lantern comes from the 1700s and was referred in many different ways. Some of the different ways that the jack-o-lantern was described are as a light, a watchman, a lantern, a man named Jack, and many other forms. The most popular historic tale of the jack-o-lantern is the one about a guy named Jack. Jack is a story about a blacksmith who lived a sinful life. He would smoke, drink, steal, trick people, and left a scandalous life. Jack ran into the devil that came for jack's soul but never got it. Jack would play games and trick the devil out of taking his soul. When Jack finally died he went to heaven but was not allowed because of his bad ways. So Jack was sent to hell but he was also denied entrance there to because of how he treated the devil. Jack did not know what to do and his soul was forced to wander the earth for the rest of eternity. Jack was giving a light which was an ember from hell and he put it into a turnip for his long dark journey. Since that day different vegetables have been used and finally the last was the pumpkin which is the most popular.

Now I will discuss how to create a Jack-o-lantern in the easiest way. First I will tell you what supplies you need to make a Jack-o-lantern. The supplies you need to make a Jack-o-lantern are a pumpkin, a knife, carving knife, spoon, black permanent marker, and a form of a light. These are the supplies you will need to create your perfect Jack-o-lantern.

Now I will list the steps of creating an easy Jack-o-lantern. First you will take your knife and cut a round circle at the top of the pumpkin. When you have made the round circle at the top of the pumpkin you will then have to remove the insides. This can be a very messy job so if you do not like getting your hands dirty you can use gloves. What you will do now is take the spoon and get all the insides out. You will take out the seeds and all the stringy insides of the pumpkin. Make sure you thoroughly clean the pumpkin out so there will be nothing that can ignite a fire. Now you must think of a design you want for the face of the pumpkin. There are many possibilities to choose from that may require a stencil. Once you figure out what face you want you will outline it with your marker. After you outline the face with the marker then you will take the carving knife and cut it out slowly. You should carve it out very slow so that you do not make too many mistakes. Children should not do this it should be done by a parent or if a child does it should be properly supervised. After this is done then you can insert your light of choice into the pumpkin. The lights you can use are a candle, flash light, glow stick, or any similar light source. To be safe from a fire it would be best to use something other than a candle. Now that your Jack-o-lantern is done you can place it outside or inside of your house for a nice Halloween decoration.

Jack-o-lanterns have been a Halloween tradition for many years. With these simple steps I have showed you how to create one that's fairly easy. If you make a Jack-o-lantern do not keep it for many days because it will eventually spoil. I hope these steps have been helpful have a safe and happy Halloween.