What is the relationship between Halloween and pumpkin? It is one of the iconic symbols of Halloween.

What does Halloween have to do with pumpkins? In Western countries, every Halloween people buy pumpkins and make them into pumpkin lanterns, or dress up as pumpkin monsters for Halloween activities. Next, let’s take a look at the relationship between Halloween and pumpkins.

What does Halloween have to do with pumpkins?

It is the iconic symbol of Halloween

The pumpkin is the iconic symbol of Halloween. The pumpkin is orange in color, so orange has become the traditional color of Halloween. Carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns is also a Halloween tradition that dates back to Ireland. Originally in ancient Irish legend, this small candle was placed in a hollowed-out turnip. It is said that soon after the Irish arrived in the United States, they discovered that pumpkins were superior to turnips in terms of both source and carving, and that pumpkins were more beautiful in appearance and closer to the shape of a face. So pumpkin lanterns gradually replaced turnips and became the new favorite for Halloween.

It is one of the festive foods of Halloween

"It's Halloween, let's eat pumpkin" Pumpkin is one of the festive foods on Halloween. As the hometown of pumpkin, pumpkin pie is a traditional home-cooked snack in the southern United States from late autumn to early winter. It is eaten on a regular basis, especially around Halloween, when it becomes a seasonal food. Americans even set October 26th of each year as "Pumpkin Day". September to October of each year is the pumpkin harvest season, and many places hold pumpkin festivals to celebrate. There are countless pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin puree, pumpkin cheesecake, etc., which are also often used as Halloween foods.

Represents the cursed soul

Legend has it that there was a man named Jack who was very stingy, so he could not enter heaven after his death, and because he made fun of the devil, he could not enter hell either, so he could only wander around with a lantern until the Day of Judgment. Thus, Jack and the pumpkin lantern became symbols of cursed wandering souls. In order to scare away these wandering spirits on Halloween Eve, people carved turnips, radishes or potatoes into scary faces to represent Jack holding a lantern. People believed that doing so would keep Jack away from their homes.