The Turn Of The Turnip!

The shortage of pumpkins provides the perfect opportunity to restore the British tradition of turnip carving.

11:03 30 October 2015

Pumpkin supplies were down by as much as 50per cent due to heavy rain in August.

 

Due to the pumpkin shortage, there have been calls for people to celebrate Halloween by using turnips to restore an old British tradition.

 

Historian Dr Michael Carter said: "From carved pumpkins to trick or treating, many of the traditions associated with Halloween today come from 

 

early European folklore, rather than simply being American inventions.

 

"I don't think turnips are going to replace pumpkins - they are more difficult to carve - but hopefully people will remember the turnip and all 

 

our other rich traditions this Halloween."

 

The practice of carving faces in vegetables originated from a folk tale about a man named Jack who has cursed to roam the earth with only a 

 

burning coal after he tried to trick the Devil. In the original Jack-o-lantern, a hollowed-out turnip was used.

 

In the 18th and 19th centuries, people who moved to the United States took the tradition with them and instead of turnip, they used pumpkin as 

 

it was easier to carve.