The pumpkins of Fall

By Al Lowe
Contributor

Here we are in the autumn of the year again. And that means, among other things, pumpkins. Pumpkin faces, either real or cardboard, spring up all over the place in late October. Along with witches, goblins and ghosts, the pumpkin has come to be a symbol of Halloween.
The pumpkin which is so prominent in October, originated in the New World. It is really just a particular type of squash, and was cultivated by the native North Americans at least as early as 1500 B.C.
There is a whole family of vine-type plants, which is called the Cucurbitaceae. The family includes squash, cucumbers, gourds, melons and cantaloupe, as well as pumpkins.
Anyone who has ever had pumpkins in their garden will know that, once they start to really grow, they take off!
The vines will grow to tremendous length, and climb into and over everything. The leaves are very large, and stand a foot or more above the ground. The pumpkin has two kinds of flowers, staminate (male) and pistillate (female). The flowers are very large, brilliant yellow, and shaped like large funnels.
But pumpkins are grown for their fruit. Now these fruits are good sized. They usually run from 10 to 20 up to about 75 pounds or so. But there are some which have been especially bred for the great size of their fruit. Here we are talking big - up to around 400 pounds or more!
Many of you will know that a gentleman from Nova Scotia held the prize for the world's largest pumpkin for quite a while. Nowadays, you can buy seeds from most companies, of the "Atlantic Pumpkin'.
Pumpkins can be stored 'as is' providing it is kept warm and dry. It will last several months.
How did the pumpkin get to be associated with Halloween? Well, November 1 is known to Christianity as All Saints Day, so the day before it is called 'All Hallows' Eve'.
It is believed that witches, black cats and skulls came to us from Roman Harvest festivals. The idea of tricks came from the British Isles and Ireland, and can be traced to the Druids. (November 1 was the Druid New Year). Bonfires were lit, goblins and witches terrified the populace, and so on. All of these customs were transferred to the New World with the immigrants.
The common pumpkin was very hardy for carving a 'death's head' on Halloween, and so the custom grew.
So for several hundred years, the pumpkin has been a symbol of the celebrations on October 31. It has gone from being an evil figure, to be whatever you want it - a sour, ghoulish face to a happy-go-lucky smiler!
The pumpkin, Cucurbita pepo, has become one of our best traditions, either as a pie, or as a strange face in the dark.