PUMPKINs Significance to Halloween

Written by Lupita Cabrera

A pumpkin is a large type of round fruit and is botanically classified as a berry. The reasoning for why they are considered a fruit is because it develops from the flower of a plant and contains seeds. They are actually a type of berry called “pepo” because of how they develop from a flower. Pumpkins belong to the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae) which also includes cucumbers, melons, and zucchini. They have been cultivated for thousands of years and Native Americans used them as a food source and for medical purposes. 

  Pumpkins in their colorful colors that each having different meanings 

Pumpkins come in many different colors like red, yellow, green, blue, and white not only the Original Orange. The orange pumpkin is the most traditional and original color of pumpkins and it ranges from a deep orange into a lighter shade. A red pumpkin symbolizes the Awareness of Drunk Driving. Supposedly it had been popularized by mothers against it and to encourage others not to drink and drive. And a yellow pumpkin is to show and share that houses are supportive of children with disabilities. There are green pumpkins that are really just pumpkins that are unripe and have yet to turn orange. Although they can represent the integration of spiritual and earthly selves they are also connected to the Heart Chakra( associated with love, connection, compassion, and empathy). A blue pumpkin on a person's doorstep can be seen as  a sensory- friendly house for children with autism.  The white pumpkins that are referred to as “Ghost Pumpkins” are a popular decorative option of pumpkin, they can also be seen/used to be a symbol for pregnancy or infant loss awareness which I think is very sweet and interesting and the reasoning for why its the white pumpkin is because the color represents the peace, the purity and the innocence of the baby. 

Pumpkins are and have become a symbol of autumn, they especially are in North America where pumpkins are carved into Jack-o-lanterns for Halloween.  Pumpkins became significant to Halloween because of the ancient Celtic tradition of carving scary faces into turnips to ward off evil spirits on the night of Samhain, Halloween, later when Irish immigrants had traveled to the U.S they then started carving Jack-O-Lanterns into pumpkins, they also changed it because pumpkins were more easier to carve into and more available. We've been carving pumpkins and or turnips ever since the folktale of Stingy Jack had been incorporated with Halloween. And Stingy Jack was an Irish myth, about Jack tricking the devil for his own monetary gain. When Jack died God did not allow his soul into heaven and the devil did not allow his soul into hell so he was just a roaming soul that was sentenced to roam the earth for eternity. The cool Jack-O-Lanterns glow at night symbolizing the harvest transition from life to death, serving as both protective charms against harmful spirits and it guides for the lost souls.