In remembrance of the original Jack O’lantern, which was NOT carved out of pumpkins, try something so old it’s new.
Carve a Turnip Jack O’Lantern for Halloween just like the Irish, Scots and Brits used to before bright orange pumpkins became the norm.
Or do as the French do in the Alsace Lorraine in the North Eastern part of France and carve a beet lantern. What about a potato O’lantern?
Getting to the root of it. Why carve a turnip Jack O’lantern?
A few years ago, I searched for a pumpkin patch near our house in southern France. Unfortunately, they were all too far, mainly located just outside of Paris.
As usual, I got sucked into the internet rabbit hole and came upon some interesting facts about the tradition of carving pumpkin Jack O’lanterns that was so different, so new to me; I didn’t believe it when I first read it.
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Photo source: Irish turnip (rutabaga) lantern on display in Ireland at the National Museum of Ireland- Country Life.
The original Jack-O-Lantern
The original European Jack-O-lanterns- named for the Irish myth, were carved mainly from turnips and other roots such as rutabagas, potatoes or beets and looked truly grotesque and monstrous compared to today’s festive or goofy carved orange pumpkins.
It wasn’t until the mid-1800s, when Irish and Scottish immigrants brought their custom of carving lanterns out of roots to North America, that the tradition changed.
The newly arrived immigrants discovered North American orange pumpkins were perfect for carving. So began the new custom of carving orange pumpkins, which is now popular throughout the world, not just in North America.
I decided to give turnip carving a go and created several turnips Jack O’lanterns this Halloween with my daughter. Of course, we also carved a pumpkin and made pumpkin seeds.
If you haven’t already read these, you might be interested in:
10 things you didn’t know about Halloween in France
How adults and children can celebrate Halloween in France
photo source (annieandre.com)
English Heritage wants you to use turnips due to a possible pumpkin shortage.
Photo source of English Heritage turnip carver and carved turnips
There have been several attempts to revive this almost forgotten tradition of carving turnip Jack O’lanterns.
In 2015, a pumpkin shortage led to the English Heritage calling for Brits to rediscover and bring back the original tradition of turnip carving to address reduced supplies of pumpkins caused by wet weather.
The English Heritage even installed several ghoulishly carved turnips at Dover Castle to inspire people, but I don’t think it’s caught on yet, but time will tell.
9 Advantages of carving turnip Jack O’lanterns
I didn’t have a lot of faith in carving turnip Jack O’lanterns. I thought they would be more difficult than carving a pumpkin because I kept reading how the Irish and Scots found pumpkins easy to carve.
To my surprise, it was just as easy, if not easier, to carve a turnip. In 15 minutes, my daughter and I had carved several adorably grotesque-looking turnip Jack O’lanterns. Something you can’t do with a pumpkin because you have to first gut the pumpkin and then slowly work your knife through the thick skin of the pumpkin to carve it. Both can be very time-consuming.
- No scooping out messy seeds, no big pumpkin mess
- Turnips are smaller and more portable than pumpkins, so you can easily use them as Jack O’lanterns or hang them from a tree outside.
- Turnips are also cheaper, so you can afford to make dozens of carved turnips to display around the house, on your windowsills or outside.
- You can let your kids do much of the work because turnips are easier to gut than a giant, hard pumpkin.
- With its reddish-white exterior and root-like characteristics, turnips look more interesting than a carved pumpkin. Maybe scarier?
- Candles tend to flicker more in a turnip because they are less protected than in a pumpkin, which makes the turnip look spookier. But the candle tends to get blown out more easily as a result. (not a positive)
- Unlike pumpkins, turnips and many other roots are relatively easy to find almost everywhere all year round, even in France.
- No waste! After you scoop out the turnips’ innards, you can use the guts to make yummy mashed turnips.
- You can carve turnips and roots all year round into different things like votive holders, unlike pumpkins, which only look appropriate during Halloween. (see photos below)
Tools you need to carve root or turnip Jack O’lanterns.
Photo source: Diane Gilleland via Makezine.
- A knife to cut off the top
- Something to scoop out the guts- a melon ball scoop works way better than a spoon. The edges of a melon ball are sharper.
- A smaller blade to carve the details of your scary face onto the turnip.
- A poking tool might come in handy if you want to poke small holes into the sides of the turnip and run a string through the holes so you can hang the turnip from a tree or something.
Turnip and root carving inspiration
When it comes time to carve your terrifying turnip, you’re limited only by your imagination. Here are a few photos to wet your inspiration.
Photo source of English Heritage carved turnips.
Hang a bunch of turnip Jack O’lanterns in the yard
Turnips don’t weigh much, so you can easily hang them from a tree in the backyard or your front doorstep. Carry them on your trick or treats, too.
Carve a rutabaga
Photo source Munchies. vice
In addition to turnips, you can carve rutabagas into Jack O’Lanterns, which look even scarier than carved turnips with their brown skin and extruding roots that remind me of mole hairs.
photo source = The invisible underground
Make a simple turnip votive for any time of the year.
Photo source: Martha Stewart
For a more elegant turnip that you can use all year round, turn that turnip into a tea light holder to put on the dinner table or coffee table. Martha Stewart says to use varying sizes for the most interesting display and not leave lit candles unattended. DUH!
Photo source = Lovely Greens
Head over to Lovely Greens to learn how to make these cute carved turnip lanterns.
Carve other roots like potatoes
Photo source = Odyssey
If you can’t get your hands on any turnips or want to try carving other roots and vegetables like the Irish, Scots and English, walk into your kitchen and look in your vegetable drawer. Pull out a potato, beet, butternut squash or rutabaga and start carving away.
The Sugar Beet Lantern carving customs in Northern France
photo source= Ville deLongvilliers
As I mentioned in this article, the French hate Halloween and how to celebrate it anyway. The French don’t really celebrate Halloween, so carving pumpkins isn’t that popular either.
However, in the North of France, in Alsace Lorrain, there’s the tradition of carving grimacing sugar beets on October 31st for the night of the grimacing beets.
Grimacing Beets of Lorraine “les Betteraves Grimaçantes.”
photo source: B@ch’ Boetz
The children of Lorraine, a historic region in northeast France that borders Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, have a tradition of carving grimacing beet lanterns, “les Betteraves Grimaçantes.”
A small candle is placed in the carved sugar beet lantern and placed on windowsills on the eve of Toussaint (All Saints Day) on November 1st, which happens to be Halloween. This special night is called “Nuit des betteraves grimaçantes” in French or “Rommelbootzen” in German, which translates to “The night of the grimacing beets.”
photo source = Blog d’air
Decorated Beets of Boulonnais during Christmas
Boulonnais, a coastal area in northern France near Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer, has a carved beet lantern festival called “la fête des guénels.”
A Guénels is a carved beet lantern and is the middle aged phonetic spelling for the word Gai Noel.
Photo source of kids at Christmas with carved beets.
The custom of beet carving in this region is centred around the story of Petit Pierre.
There are several versions of this story, but the gist of the folklore is that Petit Pierre, an impoverished boy, wanted to make some money for Christmas. So, on the eve of Christmas, he carved a face into a beet and placed a candle in it to use as a lantern to illuminate the night so he could go door to door asking the bourgeois boulonnais for money. (sounds similar to Halloween, doesn’t it?)
Free beets for everyone
Although it sounds a lot like Halloween and trick-or-treating and perhaps is related to the Celtic tradition, it is celebrated for Christmas but only in the Boulonnais area of France, which has its own unique customs and traditions.
The municipality of Boulogne drops truckloads of large beets in the street, which the Kids can then go around collecting, which they will then carve and use to go door to door asking for treats while singing the traditional song called « Ô Guénel.»
photo source “of kids in beet carving competition.”
There is also a festival of carved beets called “la fête des guénels” with a beet carving contest. After the contest, children parade in the streets “défilé des guénels,” asking passer-byers for sweets «les sucreries» while again singing the traditional song called « Ô Guénel.»
Happy root carving. Consider sharing this pin on Pinterest.
