In this issue:
Halloween
and the great pumpkin
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Past issues online
On Monday, October 31,
the world celebrates Halloween. Goblins and ghouls,
scarecrows and jack o' lanterns, costumes and parties, trick
or treat and good food - these are the images of this annual
celebration.
Goodness Greeness will be
celebrating Halloween with you, with a great line-up of
organic pumpkins - both for carving and for pie making -
available at your local market.
We'd really like to talk
about the pumpkins, but before we do, we have to answer some
important, pressing questions. Like, where does
Halloween come from? What's with all this goblin and
ghoul stuff? And who is the Jack in "jack o' lanterns?
Origins
of Halloween
In ancient Ireland, the
Celtics believed that summer ended on October 31 and the
long, dark winter began the next day. So, on the 31st,
they felt that the line separating their seasons was similar
to the thin line that separates the world of the living from
the world of the dead. They believed that the ghosts
of the dead returned to earth on this day.
To commemorate the
presence of the spirits, the Druids (Celtic priests) built
large bonfires and made sacrificial offerings to the
spirits.
Over the centuries, as
the European Christian influence blended with these pagan
rituals, Halloween emerged. Since the Christians
celebrated All Saints Day on November 1, the celebration on
October 31 became "All Hallows Eve" and later Halloween.
Over time, parades and
costumes representing saints, angels and devils were added
to the celebration. Often, food was placed outside the
door of a home, in an attempt to keep the spirits from
entering the home. From this practice, "trick or
treating" emerged, as hungry citizens would take advantage
of the food left for the spirits. Later, "trick or
treating" became a more enjoyable way for the whole
community to participate in the celebration.
As Europeans
immigrated to America, they brought their Halloween customs
with them. From this blend of Celtic, Irish and
European customs, a new American tradition was born.
And in our unique way, Halloween has emerged as our
country's second largest commercial holiday.
Jack o'
Lantern
As legend has it, Jack
was an old and grumpy Irishman. Before he died, he
made a deal with the devil to keep his soul. When he
died, he first went to heaven, but Saint Peter wouldn't let
him in, because he was too grumpy. Then Jack went to
Hell, but the devil wouldn't let him in either, because of
the previous deal. So, with nowhere to go, Jack
returned to earth as a ghoul. But before he did, he
made a torch from the fires of Hell to light his way.
Back on earth, Jack
remembered that he had left a number of turnip shells (he'd
loved turnips when he was alive) behind his home. He
returned to his home, grabbed a turnip shell and stored the
torch in the shell. To provide more light, he carved
holes in the shell so that the light would pore through.
And, of course, from this
legend, the custom of the "Jack o' Lantern" was born.
Except in America, the shell was made from a native plant -
the pumpkin - not the turnip.
For more information on
the origins of Halloween, tips for costumes, stencils for
carving, recipes, stories, safety info and much more, check
out these two sites:
The History Channel Halloween section
Halloween
Magazine
The
Great Pumpkin
Pumpkins are a type of
squash and a member of the gourd family (along with
squashes, cukes and melons). Indigenous to the western
hemisphere, pumpkins have been grown in the Americas for
over
5000 years.
Check out our recent
article on winter squash and pumpkins (see "Think Fall, Think Squash" in
Issue # 40 of Organics for you)
for some background on these gourds, how they are grown,
their health benefits and tips for storage and usage.
This year, a new world
record was set for the largest pumpkin ever grown, weighing
in at over 1400 pounds. But the ones that you'll find
in your local market from Goodness Greeness are a bit
smaller.
With our Halloween
celebration, we're featuring two types of organic pumpkins
over the next few weeks. The first type is the sweet
pie pumpkin, averaging 2 and 1/2 to 4 pounds. The
flesh is sweet, delicious and flaky - great for your
traditional pumpkin pie recipe.
The second type is a 10
pound pumpkin, available in unique blues and whites.
These larger pumpkins can be used for cooking or for adding
unique colors to your carved pumpkin display (move over
Jack, there's a new color in town).
Enjoy these organic
pumpkins from Goodness Greeness and enjoy your Halloween
celebration!
Contact
us
You can find
organic pumpkins, along with a rich variety of
other organic
fruits and vegetables, many grown by local and family
farmers, from Goodness Greeness at your local market.
Email us
at
newsletter@goodnessgreeness.com if you can't find them and we'll help you
locate them.
Past
issues online
As you know if you've
been reading this weekly newsletter each week, there is a
lot of information provided on organic fruits and vegetables, their
nutritional qualities, availability, shopping and
preparation tips, as well as some recipes.
You can now access most of
the past issues of Organics for you on our web site (www.goodnessgreeness.com).
Click on the Newsletter link at the top of any page on the
site. There you'll find a quick index of all past
issues. Select the back issue you want, click on the
issue # and you'll find that tip that you were looking for.
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