An Expedition of the Pumpkin Kind

Tomorrow is Halloween and to help you get into the spooky mood, I carved you a pumpkin! Honestly speaking though, 2020 has been scary enough, so in an attempt to bring good luck for the rest of the year, I carved a Maneki- neko (also known as the beckoning cat).

Did you know that the tradition of carving a pumpkin or making a Jack o’ Lantern is said to have originated in Ireland and that instead of pumpkins, they used turnips? It is also said that the Jack o’ Lantern was made to help ward off evil spirits and to prevent them from entering your home!

Pumpkins have also been famously represented in literature! Just to name a few, we have:

The Headless Horseman from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

Jack Pumpkinhead from The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Feathertop from Mosses From an Old Manse by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Of course, we cannot forget about Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage and John Green Whittier’s The Pumpkin, written in 1850!

So, are you planning on carving a pumpkin this Halloween? What are some of your favorite pumpkin stories? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page!

And remember, this Halloween can be whatever you want it to be! Make the most of it and enjoy this special holiday! You deserve it!

This Blog Posting was approved by Hagar (office cat extraordinaire).