Why Are Scary Faces Carved Into Pumpkins On Halloween

With the immigration of thousands of Irish to America in the mid nineteenth century, this story also made its way. In America, pumpkins were much cheaper and more readily available than turnips. But carving them and making them in to Jack-O-Lanterns lit by a candle inside became an American tradition as Halloween was enthusiastically adopted in the New World by people from every possible ethnic background. By the 1880’s it had really become part of American holiday traditions. Today, most people think of Halloween as an American holiday and are not aware of the ancient traditional celebration of the carved pumpkins.

The origin and significance of pumpkins

Pumpkin is technically a fruit and not a vegetable as it is largely believed. Pumpkins, like gourds, and other varieties of squash are members of the Cucurbitacae family, which includes cucumbers, gherkins and melons. Pumpkins can grow almost anywhere, even in the Arctic. In North America, they are harvested in October, which makes them the perfect fruit for Halloween and Jack O’Lanterns.

Pumpkins are believed to have originated in North America some 5,000 years ago. Several references to pumpkins date back to centuries. References to pumpkins go back centuries. French explorers in the New World called them “pompon” while the English colonists in America corrupted it to “pumpkin.”  

This vegetable was cultivated by the Native Americans and it was a staple of their diet. Later Europeans arrived in the New World and started growing and eating pumpkins in a wide variety of ways aping their Indian neighbors. It is believed that the famous American delicacy the pumpkin pie originated from early colonists who cut the top portion of a large pumpkin, scooped out the seeds and filled it with milk, honey and spices, baking the whole thing in the ashes of a dying fire.