The Synergy Project Magazine - October 2020

2019). The term, Jack-o-Lantern,
evolved from the Irish folklore,
“Jack of the Lantern”. In this story,
Jack is a cheating, drunk, scoundrel
who plays many tricks on the
town members. One day, he was
wandering in the forest and came
across Satan who came to take
his soul to hell. Jack begged for
one final request, which was a
beverage from the pub. Together,
they went for drinks at a pub and
Jack advised Satan to turn into a
silver coin in order to pay. When
Satan transformed himself, Jack
placed him on a crucifix which
prevented Satan from turning
back. Jack negotiated one more
year on earth in return to remove
the crucifix. A year later, Satan
returned and Jack asked once
more for a final request. This time,
it was an apple. Satan reached
for an apple from a tree and Jack
surrounded him in crucifixes,
preventing Satan from straying
from the tree. Jack demanded
that Satan never takes him to hell.
They formed another agreement
and when the time came that Jack
died, he was rejected by God from
heaven. Satan gave him fire from
the depths of hell to fill a turnip
and wander the earth as a lonely
ghost for the rest of eternity It was
said that you could see the random
light on lonely, dark roads and that
it was Jack (“The Legend of”, 2019).
Will-o’-the-wisp, will-o’-wisp, or ignis
fatuus, were small fires of varying
colors that occurred naturally in
marshes (“Will-o’-the-Wisp”, 2020).
Both formed the Jack-o-Lantern.
European traditions birthed a
new holiday. The first Halloween is
still uncertain whether it occurred
in Canada or the United States,
but it began around the same
time. It was believed to have
begun in Canada around 1910
and in the city of Chicago in 1920.
THE SYNERGY PROJECT MAGAZINE
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