Opravy

Hello !

My name’s is … and I'll teach you the history of my family Do you know what name is the origin of the word for me today ?

The name pumpkin originated from the Greek word for "large melon" which is "pepon." Meanwhile, I went through a lot of transformations : "Pepon" was nasalized by the French into "pompon." The English changed "pompon" to "Pumpion." Shakespeare referred to the "pumpion" in his Merry Wives of Windsor.

American colonists changed "pumpion" into "pumpkin." The "pumpkin" is referred to in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater and Cinderella.

A small issue now : Do you know where do pumpkins come from originally ?

America or Ireland ?

Pumpkins are fruits native to America So you understand the Halloween party, you must know the story of JackO’lantern… People have been making jack-o-lanterns at Halloween for centuries.

The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him.

True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks.

Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form.

Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul.

The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit.

While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died.

As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven.

The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell.

He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way.

Jack put the coal into a carved out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since.

The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern." In Ireland and Scotland, people use vegetables to create their Halloween lanterns : Turnips or potatoes !

Indeed, people began to make their own versions of Jack's lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits.

In England, large beets are used.

My grandfather is well known, he beat a world record : It was the largest pumpkin ever grown with a mass of 989,876 Do you know that I have many family members in Illinois?

496 million pounds of pumpkins were produced in Illinois in 2008… Impressive is not it?

What types of vitamins D pumpkins contain ?

The bright orange color of pumpkin is a dead giveaway that pumpkin is loaded with an important antioxidant, beta-carotene.

Beta-carotene is one of the plant carotenoids converted to vitamin A in the body.

In the conversion to vitamin A, beta carotene performs many important functions in overall health.

And do they contain other important nutrients ?

Yes, pumpkins contain Protein, Zinc, Vitamin c and E, Fiber, Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium What is important to remember is that the pumpkins have many effects on our health Current research indicates that a diet rich in foods containing beta-carotene may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer and offers protect against heart disease.

Beta-carotene offers protection against other diseases as well as some degenerative aspects of aging.