What comes to mind when you hear the word “fall”? Maybe it’s trick-or-treating, crisp leaves, Thanksgiving, and fall decorations, but one thing that everyone thinks of is pumpkins. Pumpkins are one of the most important staples of fall. The second the leaves start to change colors, everywhere you look there are pumpkins! From pumpkin patches to pumpkin pies, pumpkins are everywhere this time of year! What makes these odd oval-shaped fruits so popular anyway? All they are is just a dirty orange plant that grows from vines. There’s got to be a more important reason why this one fruit has taken over everything that’s related to fall.
Back to its Roots-
The history of why pumpkins are so important to fall goes way back to the 17th century. Pumpkins originated in North America. When English colonists arrived, they were introduced to the pumpkin, but they did not use it for the purposes we use today. According to Fox News, farmers and villagers used pumpkins as a “last resort for food.” Because of pumpkins’ ability to grow like weeds in the fall and winter seasons, farmers would harvest pumpkins when crops like wheat and corn couldn’t grow. The pumpkin became an essential way of living. So every fall people started harvesting pumpkins, not for their taste, but for what they represented. Centuries later, because of the pumpkins’ great harvests, people started experimenting with different sweeteners and recipes. Eventually creating the very well-known pumpkin pie. It increasingly became a staple of families’ fall traditions.
Not only do pumpkins represent fall, but they also play a big part in Halloween. Carving pumpkins is a very popular and fun activity to do around Halloween. It originated in Ireland a hundred years ago; people would carve pumpkins with scary faces as a way to scare evil spirits away. Nowadays, it is a popular tradition for families and friends to do.
Pumpkin Everything!-
Pumpkins are like potatoes. There are so many different ways you can use them. Nowadays, you can find pumpkins in a variety of items: Pumpkin candles, lattes, sweet treats, decorations, cereal, bread, and even songs that have been written about pumpkins. If you can think of it, there’s probably a pumpkin version of it. I‘m not complaining though because I love pumpkin things! Just the smell of pumpkin makes everything feel like fall. In my opinion, the best pumpkin thing I’ve tried is the Starbucks pumpkin cold foam. It is so delicious! I asked some of my classmates their opinions on pumpkins. Cashlyn Harmon said, “I love pumpkins! They are awesome.” Others think that pumpkins are “overrated,” or they simply don’t like the taste of pumpkins. For example, another student Allie Yoder, spoke her opinion on how she does not like pumpkins, “especially the smell” she states.
Everyone has their own opinion of how they prefer to enjoy their fall season, but without a little bit of pumpkin is it even fall? So maybe you’re a pumpkin lover or a pumpkin hater, or maybe you’re somewhere in between. It’s ultimately up to you and what you prefer. But pumpkins will always be a part of fall no matter what. Pumpkins and fall go together like peanut butter and jelly!
Source-
https://www.foxweather.com/lifestyle/how-pumpkins-became-the-favored-gourd-of-fall
