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Pumpkins have become the symbol for Halloween, but it wasn’t always so…

The lowly pumpkin, or jack-o-lantern has become the mascot for Halloween. Pumpkins are the most recognizable symbol of the hallowed holiday.

Most people know the holiday as Halloween, but in olden days it was actually a celtic holiday called “Samhain” (pronounced “sow wan”), which generally means “summer’s end”.

Halloween was the end of the celtic year, and the beginning of the new year. It lasted from sundown on October 31st until sundown on November 1st.

It began as a night to honor and remember those who have passed, and it was widely believed that, on the night of the 31st the veil between the world of the living, and the world of the dead is at it’s thinnest.

Halloween has been celebrated for centuries by celts, witches, and many other nature based faiths;  for them it is the most magical night of the year. Following in the tradition of the celts, it was adopted as the Witches’ New Year. The religious significance has long since passed out of the minds of mankind, but it is still a magical night.

On this magical night glowing jack-o-lanterns dot neighborhoods across the world. These were originally carved from turnips, or gourds.

The pumpkin being a native of the America, wasn’t used until European settlers arrived in America. They found the pumpkin to be larger, easier to carve, and seemed to be the perfect gourd for jack-o-lanterns.

Jack-o-lanterns were originally set on porches and in windows to welcome deceased loved ones, and as a protection against malevolent forces and spirits. Burning coals were first used to light the jack-o-lantern, and later replaced by candles.

Pumpkins, being indigenous to the western hemisphere were completely unknown of back in Europe. In 1584 a french explorer named Jaques Cartier reportedly found ‘gros melons’, which was translated into english as ‘ponpions’, which became pumpkin over time.

Pumpkins have been grown in America by natives for over 5,000 years. Native Americans called pumpkins ‘isquotersquash’.

Another interesting tidbit is the fact that pumpkins are not vegetables, but actually fruits.

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