Are You Ready For Some Pumpkin Fun? 🎃
Celebrate fall with fun and festive ways to enjoy Halloween.
I have so many wonderful memories as a child and parent going to the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, and celebrating Halloween with candy and costumes for the trick-and-treaters.
Now that fall has arrived with the burst of colors and people decorating their porches, it is a great time to visit a pumpkin patch, host a pumpkin carving party, and celebrate with delicious pumpkin pie!
Pumpkin Patches 🎃
Every year, I love to visit a pumpkin patch and bring home handpicked pumpkins to decorate our porch, carve, and celebrate the fall Halloween season.
Pick up a few large pumpkins to carve and a collection of different sizes and colors to decorate. To carve a jack-o-lantern I suggest a large and round pumpkin with a sturdy stem and smooth skin.
You can take photos with the pumpkins, go on a hayride, play games, or enjoy some snacks. Some pumpkin patches also have corn mazes, petting zoos, or haunted houses.
Just a few minutes from Portland is Sherwood with several pumpkin patches that are fun, festive, and full of pumpkins. This year we picked our pumpkins at Phil’s Farm. Oregon. Also, nearby in St. Helens along the Columbia River is Spirit of Halloweentown and Sauvie Island.
Pumpkin Parties and Pie 🥧
Next, invite your friends and family to join you in celebrating the season with pumpkins. Decorate your house with pumpkins and other fall items, such as leaves, acorns, or candles. You can also serve some delicious pumpkin dishes and drinks that will impress your guests. My favorites to serve are pumpkin spice coffee and waffles for a pumpkin carving brunch party!
You can also cook a pie with your fresh pumpkin, eggs, cream, brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves baked in a crust, and served with whipped cream or ice cream.
History: Why Do We Carve Pumpkins? 🎃
According to Britannica, the Jack-o’-lantern, a carved-out pumpkin face with a flickering candle lit to shine in the dark, was a custom that originated as an Irish myth about Stingy Jack, who tricked the devil and was forced to roam the earth forever. The people in Ireland carved demonic faces on turnips to scare away Jack’s wandering. When Irish immigrants to America, they carved native pumpkins.1
Halloween roots come from the ancient Celtic festival Samhain, the “end of summer,” when people believed the world of gods became visible and played tricks on mortals. People believed that souls would return to visit their homes and the Celts believed it was a dangerous time with fear, frights, and festivals.2
The Roman Catholic Church changed the date of All Saints’ Day, to November 1 so that All Hallows’ Eve or Halloween fell on October 31. People continued to practice the traditions from Samhain wearing costumes to disguise and hide from the wandering souls.3
In Mexico, El Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is when families celebrate and welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives. People believe that the border between the spirit world and the real world dissolves and the souls of the dead awaken and return to the living world to feast, drink, dance, and play music with their loved ones. Families celebrate and honor the deceased with their favorite foods and offerings at gravesites and ofrendas, the altars with offerings for the loved ones, decorated with candles, and colorful marigolds.4
3,000 years ago these celebrations and rituals honoring the dead in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Today, the holiday is celebrated each year. According to tradition, the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31 and the spirits can rejoin their families for 24 hours.5
So what are you waiting for? Grab your pumpkins and have some fun this fall! 🍂
https://www.britannica.com/story/why-do-we-carve-pumpkins-at-halloween
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Samhain
https://www.britannica.com/topic/All-Saints-Day
https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/day-of-the-dead
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Day-of-the-Dead