Why Pumpkins?
October 1st, 2009 | Holidays
By Natasha L. Kohlhoff Polak
Although pumpkins or “pepos” are native to Mexico since as early as 7000 BC for having been used in everyday cooking and serving as drinking cups, we know them today as part of the holiday fanfare for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Orange is their most prevalent color, but they can also be found in shades of yellow, pink, red, green, or even white.
The first concept of Halloween is attributed to the Celts, who honored the gods of Harvest at the end of October. But long before Halloween was actually introduced, the Mexican Aztec Indians had a celebration of their own called Miccailhuitontli, which was a feast day for the dead. They presented sacrifices as a feast for the dead during the harvest season, making the holiday the precursor of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead held November 1st.
By the 1700s, the Irish adapted the custom of using Jack O’ Lanterns that went along with the folklore of the wicked Jack whose soul is said to be guided by the light of the lit gourd. However, the first Jack O’ Lanterns were made from various hollowed-out vegetables until explorers and settlers who went to Mexico obtained and sent pumpkin seeds to nations across the globe; hence the Pilgrims were given gifts of squash similar to pumpkins by Native American Indians, and not actual pumpkins. Eventually, the pumpkin became the Jack O’ Lantern of choice, as part of making Halloween a spooky and festive time.
Flickr photo by Mykl Roventine
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