The Pumpkins Have Arrived!!!!!

[Guest guest]

The pumpkins have arrived in the stores by me in full force! And

although the stores are full of the pumpkins I also want my son to

experience the joy of picking his own pumpkin at the Pumpkin Patch this

weekend (his Grandma may take him cause she really wants to do those

cute Grannie things with him …

 

SO lets start posting out favorite pumpkin recipes, ideas and facts

folks! And they don’t have to be just edible recipes either!!!

 

I’m going to start this off with some pumpkin history I found online

 

*Smile*

Chris ( list mom)

 

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

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INCLUDEPICTURE

" http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/pumpkins/images/banner-history.gif " \*

MERGEFORMATINET

 

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/pumpkins/history.html

References to pumpkins date back many centuries. The name pumpkin

originated from the Greek word for " large melon " which is " pepon. "

" Pepon " was nasalized by the French into " pompon. " The English changed

" pompon " to " Pumpion. " Shakespeare referred to the " pumpion " in his

Merry Wives of Windsor. American colonists changed " pumpion " into

" pumpkin. " The " pumpkin " is referred to in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater and Cinderella.

Native Americans dried strips of pumpkin and wove them into mats. They

also roasted long strips of pumpkin on the open fire and ate them. The

origin of pumpkin pie occurred when the colonists sliced off the pumpkin

top, removed the seeds, and filled the insides with milk, spices and

honey. The pumpkin was then baked in hot ashes.

History of the Jack-o-Lantern

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 it 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.

Source: The History Channel

HYPERLINK

" http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/pumpkin.html "

http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/pumpkin.html

 

 

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