Millions of store-bought pumpkins enter our homes in October and become part of our customary preparations for Halloween. Six year old
Avery Ancell, granddaughter of
Jan and
Joe McDaniel of Parker, recently enjoyed carving a modest sized pumpkin as recorded in these photographs.
Several weeks ago the world record pumpkin weighed in at a fair in Massachusetts. Proud grower
Joe Jutras from Scituate, Rhode Island watched his home-grown specimen top the scales at 1,689 lbs. That's some big fruit.
The pumpkin that we have come to know and love at this time of year is closely related to the squash and the cucumber. It is thought to have originated in Central America. Seeds from similar plants have been found in Mexico dating back over 7,000 years to 5,500 BC. Native Americans used pumpkins as a staple in their diets. Early settlers took the seeds back to Europe.
These historical facts and everything else we are likely to want to know about the pumpkin can be found at
www.pumpkinnook.com. Among the interesting facts:
The pumpkin is actually a fruit because it is the ripened ovary of a flowering plant. For cooking purposes it is considered a vegetable.
The pumpkin is the State Fruit of New Hampshire.
The custom of carving Jack-O-Lanterns was introduced to America by Irish immigrants. Historically, European custom celebrated All Hallows Eve by carving scary faces into gourds and turnips and placing embers inside to light them - this was supposed to ward off evil spirits. In the 1800's Irish settlers in this country found pumpkins bigger and much easier to carve.
In Korea and Japan the word translating to "pumpkin" is a slang term for an unattractive woman. In parts of North America it is used as a term of endearment.
The self-proclaimed "Pumpkin Capital of the World" is Morton, Illinois.
The pumpkin has been given significant recognition in Hollywood - most notably in Walt Disney's animated film "Cinderella" - and in comics where Linus van Pelt sits in a pumpkin patch every year at Halloween waiting for the Great Pumpkin to arrive. After 50 years, Linus remains frustrated. Supposedly the Great Pumpkin only rises from a patch he feels is truly "sincere," then flies through the air to deliver toys to all the good little children of the world.
I think Linus has been eating too much candy.