萬聖節快到了，女兒突然問起了南瓜燈的由來，上網google了一下，發現大概有兩個版本，
故事的開頭:
原則上這故事起源於愛爾蘭(an Irish tale)，兩個版本的主角都是一個綽號叫做Stingy Jack(小氣鬼傑克)的人，話說這個Jack是一個愛喝酒又小氣又愛耍詭計的人......
版本一:
有天他在酒吧喝酒的時候，死神(有人是說Satan)來要他的命，他在情急之下用計騙死神爬上樹(話說是幫他摘水果@@)，當死神在樹上時，Jack在樹下刻了一個十字架，因此死神無法從樹上下來...，於是死神跟Jack談條件，只要Jack讓他下來，他就永遠不會取走Jack的靈魂(claim Jack's soul)。
版本二:
有天Jack遇到惡魔，邀請惡魔(Devil)喝酒，因為他是個小氣的人，所以他不願意付錢，於是他用計讓惡魔變成六便士(six pennies)用來支付酒錢，然而Jack並沒有將錢支付出去，反而將錢放進自己的口袋，而且跟口袋裡的銀十字架放在一起，讓惡魔無法變回原來的樣子，在惡魔苦苦哀求之下，Jack放了他，條件就是惡魔不會再來找他。
故事的結尾:
幾年後，當Jack死的時候，因為他是個不正直的人，天堂不能收留他，死神答應他不帶走他的靈魂，所以他也到不了地獄，只能在天堂與地獄之間的黑暗中遊蕩。於是死神(或是惡魔或是Satan)給了Jack一塊燒紅的煤炭(a burning coal)讓他用來照亮要走的路，Jack將煤炭放進挖空的蕪菁(又名大頭菜，turnip)裡，當成燈籠使用。
因為這個傳說，後來愛爾蘭人就用蕪菁或是馬鈴薯做成燈籠，並稱為Jack of the Lantern，簡稱為Jack O'Lantern。這個傳說跟新移民來到美洲大陸後，他們發現南瓜更適合拿來做燈籠，於是南瓜取代了大頭菜成了萬聖節必備的Jack O'Lantern.
後來上網Google英文版的故事後發現有綜合版的，內容如下:
有一個綽號叫小氣鬼傑克(Stingy Jack)的人，他邀請Devil跟他一起喝酒，然而就像Jack的綽號一樣，他一點都不想支付酒錢，所以他就說服惡魔變成錢幣(six pennis)，這樣Jack才能用來付錢。可是當惡魔變成錢幣時，Jack決定將錢幣放進自己的口袋裡，並且跟口袋中的銀色十字架放在一起，以預防惡魔變回原形。在條件交換下，Jack釋放了惡魔，惡魔答應他惡魔在一年內不會打擾他，還有當Jack死亡時，惡魔不會取走他的靈魂。過了一年後，Jack又再次戲弄惡魔，他讓惡魔爬上樹摘取水果，當惡魔在樹上時，他在底下的樹皮上刻了十字架，因此惡魔就沒辦法下來，一直到惡魔答應Jack十年內不會再打擾Jack。
不久之後，Jack死了，然而，因為上帝不願意讓這種令人厭惡的人進到天堂，加上信守承諾的惡魔不會取走Jack的靈魂，也不會讓他進到地獄，所以惡魔給了Jack一個燃燒的煤炭後，將Jack送到黑暗的夜晚中。Jack將煤炭放進挖空的蕪菁，從此到處遊蕩。
英文版可參考這篇:
The Legend of "Stingy Jack"
People have been making jack-o'-lanterns at Halloweenfor
centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed
"Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil
to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for
his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack
could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the
money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the
Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the
Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that,
should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked
the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up
in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the
Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for
ten more years.
Soon after, Jack died. As the legend
goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset
by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul,
would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only
a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and
has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this
ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack
O'Lantern."
In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own
versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and
placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other
wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these
countries brought the jack o'lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States.
They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect
jack-o'-lanterns.
出處: History.Com
http://www.history.com/topics/jack-olantern-history
下圖為turnip ，最原始的Jack O'Lantern ( 蕪菁，又名大頭菜 )
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