The Amazing Pumpkin Great Indeed

Fall is here the leaves are turning and soon Halloween will be on its way. What would Halloween be like without the pumpkin? What do we actually know about this beautiful creation? Here are some fun facts that will make us appreciate this amazing work of art even more than we do now.

According to Omaspumpkinpatch .com the pumpkin originated in America. There was also evidence of pumpkins seeds in the years 7,000 and 5,500 BC in Mexico. The Native Americans enjoyed it way before the pilgrims knew what it was. The pilgrims got wise and started to us it, not as a pie filling but as part of the crust. It is funny how experimenting lead to it later being used the other way around. I can’t imagine how the crust must have tasted. Also the Native Americans and the Pilgrims would cut the top off the pumpkin take out the inside and filled them milk, spices, and honey and cooked them in hot ashes. It is the beginnings of our wonderful pumpkin pies of today.

Can you believe the pumpkin is a fruit? Now you can impress your friends, or have an answer for trivial pursuit, if anyone should ask what is the largest fruit? While we are on the subject of largest fruit how big is the biggest pumpkin? The website pumpkinnook.com the largest pumpkin weighed 1,874.5 pounds at the Great Pumpkin Festival held at Elk Grove, California on October 6, 2013.

There are 15 types of pumpkins the smallest can weigh a few pounds and the largest can weigh over a thousand. We all know that pumpkins are orange, but there are also colors that range from shades of red, pink, green, tan, white and blue. White pumpkins are growing in popularity because of their ghostly look you have to pay for their uniqueness though they cost more than the traditional orange counterparts.

How did the Jack O Lantern get started? We can trace it back to Ireland where they used to carve turnips and beets. They would carve gruesome faces that represented spirits and goblins. Later when the Irish came to American they discovered it was much easier to use the pumpkin because it was so plentiful and also larger than the turnip. The year it was first recorded in America is 1866. It began in Ireland and Scotland in the 19^th century. Jack o’ Lanterns were also thought to protect the homeowner against the undead and vampires.

Two instances where the pumpkin is prominent is the great classic by Charles Schultz called It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. This show first aired in 1966 and it is now a beloved classic. Linus decides to go to the pumpkin patch to wait for the Great Pumpkin to arrive. He is so adamant about his existence that one cannot help but wish that he would appear to prove Linus right.

Another instance where the Jack O’ Lantern appears is in the book The Legend of Sleepy Hallow by Washington Irving in 1820. Ichabod is a shy schoolteacher who fancies the wealthy girl named Katrina, but she has another suitor vying for her attention named Abraham he know how superstitious Ichabod is and tells him the story of the headless horseman. When the book ends Ichabod has disappeared and all that remains of him is a wandering horse, trampled saddle, a hat and a shattered pumpkin.

Pumpkins have stayed in the minds and hearts of America to this day. In fact they seem to be more popular than ever. We use them for decorations inside and outside; we use them for pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, and many other wonderful recipes. The pumpkin has also been used in pumpkin chunking where you see how far you can launch a pumpkin, you can make a pumpkin piñata, you can use the pumpkin as a bowling ball at your Halloween party, the pumpkin can be used as a decoration to hold your fall arrangements, and it can be used to create different faces for Halloween decorations.

Halloween would not be the same without this amazing creation that appears only one time a year and defines a season. Thank you Native Americans and Pilgrims for showing us how special this fruit is and paving the way for its place in our lives today.