<P> The term jack - o' - lantern was originally used to describe the visual phenomenon ignis fatuus (lit., "foolish fire") known as a will - o' - the - wisp in English folklore . Used especially in East England, its earliest known use dates to the 1660s . The term "will - o' - the - wisp" uses "wisp" (a bundle of sticks or paper sometimes used as a torch) and the proper name "Will": thus, "Will - of - the - torch ." The term jack - o' - lantern is of the same construction: "Jack of (the) lantern ." </P> <P> The carving of vegetables has been a common practice in many parts of the world, and gourds were one of the earliest plant species domesticated by humans c. 10,000 years ago . For example, gourds were used to carve lanterns by the Maori over 700 years ago; the Māori word for a gourd also describes a lampshade . </P> <P> It is believed that the custom of making jack - o' - lanterns at Halloween began in Ireland . In the 19th century, "turnips or mangel wurzels, hollowed out to act as lanterns and often carved with grotesque faces," were used at Halloween in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands . In these Gaelic - speaking regions, Halloween was also the festival of Samhain and was seen as a time when supernatural beings (the Aos Sí), and the souls of the dead, roamed the earth . The belief that the souls of the dead roamed the earth at Halloween was also found in other parts of Europe . Jack - o' - lanterns were also made at Halloween in Somerset (see Punkie Night) during the 19th century . </P> <P> By those who made them, the lanterns were variously said to represent the spirits or supernatural beings, or were used to ward off evil spirits . For example, sometimes they were used by Halloween guisers to frighten people, and sometimes they were set on windowsills to keep harmful spirits out of one's home . It has also been suggested that the jack - o' - lanterns originally represented Christian souls in purgatory, as Halloween is the eve of All Saints' Day (1 November) / All Souls' Day (2 November). </P>

Before the pumpkin what vegetable was traditionally carved on halloween