Halloween Pumpkin Facts
The Celtic version of Halloween is approximately 2,000 years old. It did not begin as an American holiday. Brought to the United States by Irish and Scottish immigrants, it morphed into Halloween as we know it. Along with the practice of carving pumpkins, costumes and handing out candy became part of the holiday. Impress your friends with pumpkin facts on this spooky holiday. Does this Spark an idea?
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Origins
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Celtic people held a festival on Nov. 1 that was a celebration of the dead. In the Celtic beliefs, the souls of dead people returned on Oct. 31. The carved foods were to keep the souls away. The next day honored those souls.The original name was "All Hallows Eve" and it was also called "Night of the Dead."
History
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Celtic people started carving scary faces and pictures into turnips and potatoes. They did so to scare away the dead. This practice spread to England, where they carved faces in beets. Irish and Scottish immigrants kept up this practice in their new country. They discovered that pumpkins were much larger and thus it was easier to carve faces and pictures in them.
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Carving Pumpkins
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Carving Halloween pumpkins is often a family event. To get the perfect carved pumpkin, you must first clean out the inside. This involves scooping out all the meat of the pumpkin, as well as the seeds. Then you can draw and cut out the pumpkin face or designs, such as a scary witch. It is typical to place candle inside and then display it in a window or outside of your front door.
Food
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Pumpkins are indigenous to the United States. Native Americans ate pumpkin in soups and grilled over fire. They also used them in weaving fabrics and handicrafts. As the early settlers arrived, they started using them in meat dishes and an early version of pumpkin pie. This version included pumpkin in the crust and not the filling.
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References
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