Why pumpkins are at the heart of many a seasonal celebration

Words: Jade Beecroft

Pumpkins are as synonymous with autumn as the leaves falling from the trees and the nights drawing in as the days get shorter. From the ghoulish faces carved into them to create Halloween jack-o’-lanterns to traditional Thanksgiving pumpkin pies, they form a part of harvest and seasonal celebrations in many parts of the world. Their eye-catching shape, sweet taste and hearty texture has made them a favourite for generations. But did you know that even though the pumpkin is commonly categorised as a vegetable, it’s actually a fruit? Or that eating pumpkin was once considered a way to get rid of freckles? (Why anyone would want to is a mystery, though the beta-carotene that pumpkins contain can help improve uneven skin pigmentation.) Now more commonly associated with warming winter soups and carving competitions, pumpkins are as popular as ever.

Fruit of the world

Carving pumpkins originates from Irish Celtic tradition, but the plants are native to Central America, Mexico and the southern US, and Indigenous North American peoples have been growing and cultivating them for thousands of years for their flowers, seeds and flesh. They are members of the gourd family, which also includes cucumbers, courgettes and melons, and the name pumpkin originates from the Greek word pepon, which means ‘large melon’.