from lowescreativeideas.com:• The name pumpkin originated from the Greek word for "large melon" which is "pepon."
• However, a pumpkin is a squash. It’s a member of the Cucurbita family that also includes cucumbers. Botanically it’s a fruit.
• Large amounts of lutein, alpha- and beta-carotene—which are responsible for their orange color—make pumpkins rich in Vitamin A, which benefits eyesight.
• Giant pumpkins, weighing in at the top of the scale at over 1,500 pounds, were first grown in great quantities by Howard Dill of Nova Scotia, Canada. His Atlantic Giant seeds are acknowledged to be the leaders of the patch.
• Native Americans dried strips of pumpkin and wove them into mats. Comfy!
• Pumpkin pie? The origin of it can be traced to early American colonists. They cut off the pumpkin top, took out the seeds, and filled it with milk, spices, and honey. Then they baked it in hot ashes.
• “Stingy Jack,” a figure of Irish folklore, was a man who played tricks on the devil and won. So when he died, being such an ill favored chap, neither God nor the Devil would let him in. He was cursed to wander the earth forever with a burning coal in a hollowed-out turnip. Later, Irish and Scottish folk made their own versions of his lantern to frighten off Jack and other evil spirits. You guessed it. From this came the modern jack-o-lantern.
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