Hey pumpkin, did you know!

The word “pumpkin” originates from “peopon,” which means “large melon” in Greek. It then evolved to “pompon” in French and “pumpion” in Britain .

Scientists believe that pumpkins originated in North America about 9000 years ago. The oldest pumpkin seeds have been found in Mexico and date back to somewhere between 7000-5550 B.C..

Technically a fruit, the pumpkin is a winter squash in the family Cucurbitaceae which includes cucumbers and melons. Every single part of a pumpkin is edible: the skin, leaves, flowers, pulp, seeds, and stems.

Interestingly, pumpkins are 92 percent water.

Pumpkins are an excellent source of potassium, vitamin A and beta-carotene, the powerful antioxidant that gives orange vegetables and fruits their color.

Pumpkins and other forms of squash were a historically important food staple. Traditionally grown along river banks next to corn and beans, a planting technique that was called the “Three Sisters Method,” which allowed the three crops to sustain each other. Corn served as the trellis upon which the beans could climb; beans were nourished by the sunlight and kept the corn stalks stable on windy days, while also nourishing their soil; and pumpkins sheltered the corn’s shallow roots and prevented weeds from taking hold.

The practice of carving Jack-O’-Lanterns was brought over by Irish immigrants. In Ireland they used to carve Jack-O’-Lanterns out of potatoes or turnips, but upon arrival to North America, they began to use pumpkins because they were far easier to carve.

The pumpkin is synonymous with fall. As we shifted from colonization to industrialization and people started moving from rural farm life to urban living, squashes like zucchini moved with them to cities, but interestingly, pumpkins stayed on the farm. Farmers used pumpkins as food for livestock, and since pumpkins remained on the farm they adopted a wholesome symbolism. they reminded people of the comforts of the rural country lifestyle.

So, when all those urbanites felt homesick, longing for family and farm, feeling lost and disconnected in the hustle and bustle of the city, pumpkins were a warm reminder of being connected to the farm, to the harvest and to the earth.