How did pumpkins become associated with Halloween?

Answer 1

I know This :-)

Halloween evolved from an irish holiday much like the Mexican Day of the Dead. I forget the name it went By but They would go throughout the town asking for donations for a big town feast. Hence where trick or treating originated, They would Light Up a Rutebegga or similiar vegetable by hollwing them out and lighting them with candles supposedly to help light the way for wandering spirits to cross the river of life.
Once the new settlers Came to America Pumpkins were discovered and found much easier to use for the same Purpose :-)

That should be Real Close to the truth If im Not exactly Right :-)

Answer 2

Halloween is based on a very old Celtic holiday called Samhain. The Celts were worshippers of nature, and Samhain was a celebration at the end of the growing season. At this time of year, they believed that the "curtain" or "veil" surrounding this world and the next was very thin, which is how the ghosts and goblins became part of the tradition. The Celts used to welcome the spirits with lights made of hollowed-out turnips. Pumpkins were not native to Ireland...were added to the celebration in the New World.

Answer 3

The Jack-o-lantern custom probably comes from Irish folklore. As the tale is told, a man named Jack, who was notorious as a drunkard and trickster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved an image of a cross in the tree's trunk, trapping the devil up the tree. Jack made a deal with the devil that, if he would never tempt him again, he would promise to let him down the tree.

According to the folk tale, after Jack died, he was denied entrance to Heaven because of his evil ways, but he was also denied access to Hell because he had tricked the devil. Instead, the devil gave him a single ember to light his way through the frigid darkness. The ember was placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing longer.

The Irish used turnips as their "Jack's lanterns" originally. But when the immigrants came to America, they found that pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips. So the Jack-O-Lantern in America was a hollowed-out pumpkin, lit with an ember

Answer 4

I believe the story is of irish or scotish lore and it was something about a farmer using hollowed out pumpkins to make lanterns with to light his farm to ward off evil spirits. Check out some pumpkin carving web sites a lot of them have folk lore to explain the legends.

Answer 5

the history of the pumpkin

The Great Pumpkin
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Pumpkins But Were Afraid To Ask...

- Pumpkins are fruits. A pumpkin is a type of squash and is a member of the gourd family (Cucurbitacae), which also includes squash, cucumbers, gherkins, and melons.

- The largest pumpkin pie ever baked was in 2003 and weighed 418 pounds.

- Pumpkins have been grown in North America for five thousand years. They are indigenous to the western hemisphere.

- In 1584, after French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence region of North America, he reported finding "gros melons." The name was translated into English as "pompions," which has since evolved into the modern "pumpkin."

- Pumpkins are low in calories, fat, and sodium and high in fiber. They are good sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, potassium, protein, and iron.

- The largest pumpkin ever grown was 1,337 pounds. It was grown by Charles Houghton of New Boston, New Hampshire.

- Pumpkin seeds should be planted between the last week of May and the middle of June. They take between 90 and 120 days to grow and are picked in October when they are bright orange in color. Their seeds can be saved to grow new pumpkins the next year.

History Of The Jack-O'Lantern


Pumpkin carving is a popular part of modern America's Halloween celebration. Come October, pumpkins can be found everywhere in the country from doorsteps to dinner tables. Despite the widespread carving that goes on in this country every autumn, few Americans really know why or when the jack o'lantern tradition began. Or, for that matter, whether the pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable. Read on to find out!

People have been making jack o'lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o'lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o'lanterns.

Answer 6

They are harvested in autumn, and people in the 1600's (when Halloween was 1st started believed carving spooky faces into the pumpkins kept the evil spirits away. Thats also why they dressed up for Halloween, cuz they believed it camouflaged them from the spirits. (Halloween is my favorite holiday)

Answer 7

a guy named Jack did something on Halo's Eve with a lantern(Jack-o-Lantern), and got his head chopped off and a pumpkin took it's place. Halo's Eve later turned into Halloween

Answer 8

I saw something about this on the history channel. One of the immigrant factions, I think it was the Scottish, use to carve turnips to scare ghouls on Halloween. When they came to America, they found it easier to carve pumpkins.

Answer 9

when the Irish immigrates came to the US in the early 1900's, easier to carve then turnips

Answer 10

They happen to grow at that exact time of year, and are easy to harvest.