10/21/2025
Halloween is approaching and that means it’s time to carve pumpkins again… or maybe turnips! Did you know that Halloween is a Celtic celebration that dates back over 2,000 years to mark the end of the harvest season and start the darker half of the year? They used to carve turnips or beets and light them up with burning coal to scare away evil spirits 👻 It wasn’t until the mid-1800’s when Irish immigrants came to America that they found pumpkins to be much bigger and much easier to carve 🎃
These turnip carvings look far scarier than any pumpkins I’ve ever seen, and you can hang them up which makes them even more unique! If you’d like to keep ancient traditions alive and give turnip or beet carvings a try this year, Lovely Greens has a great step-by-step tutorial at https://lovelygreens.com/carve-turnip-jack-o-lantern/
Here’s another great tutorial with ideas from Just Beet It https://www.justbeetit.com/beet-blog-index/carve-celtic-turnip-root-veggie-jack-o-lantern-halloween
Happy Halloween and happy carving to you, friends! 🕯️🎃