Why Do We Carve Pumpkins for Halloween?.
Modern Halloween is derived from the Irish festival, “Samhain,’ which marks the passage from summer into winter.
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During the traditional bonfires of the festival, it was believed that evil spirits lurked in the surrounding shadows.
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To ward off these evil spirits, rudimentary faces were carved into hollowed-out turnips and placed in windows and alongside roads.
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They also used the turnip lanterns to light the way for travelers and good spirits.
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This Irish tradition was later carried over to America by immigrants in the mid-1800s.
Pumpkins quickly became the staple for carving, as they were abundantly available and the easiest fruit to work with.
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From there, pumpkins grew into a multi-million dollar industry, with John Howden developing the ideal carving pumpkin in the 1960s.
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The Howden pumpkin is the most popular Halloween pumpkin, as its thin flesh and shallow ribs make it perfect for carving.