Which side of the Atlantic does the jack-o'-lantern come from?
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Accepted answer
What I'm seeing there for good attestations are the following:
- In Irish folklore, a Jack-o'-lantern appears to have been the same as what was called a will-o'-the-wisp in English folklore. In other words, ignited swamp gas visible at night, with lots of creative folklore built up around it. This is attested to as known folklore before we know of the term being applied to man-made objects.
- There was an existing pranking tradition among English peasants of making lanterns out of turnips on full moons (Halloween being one) in order to scare people. However, they reportedly called them "Hobany's Lantern".
- The earliest attestations of the term being used for carved pumpkins are all from North America. Of course this shouldn't be too shocking, as North America is where pumpkins are native plants.
So it looks like the modern Jack-o'-lantern was a minor evolution from multiple very similar folk traditions already existing in the British Isles. The final evolution probably happened in North America, where all these traditions had a chance to intermix among the common settlers, along with a conveniently large native gourd. However, it didn't take very long for the entire activity (pumpkins excluded due to lack of availability) to be attested in the Scottish Highlands on Halloween, so the exact location can't be pinned with any certainty.
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