All About the Big Orange Vegetable by Kelsey DeVasure

"The pumpkin my boyfriend and I carved"

            Most people have a childhood memory of carving a pumpkin. Whether that is with our parents, friends, or in our kindergarten class is unique to each person. It's just something that has always been done, and it is a Halloween tradition in our area. Though the pumpkins may have become more modern, like lighting your face up with colored glow sticks instead of candles, the idea is still the same.

            When the idea was first created it was in Scotland and Ireland, where they carved turnips. In England they carved beets. These early carvers would place their scary faced creations on their doorstep on “All Hallows Eve” to ward off evil spirits. When the tradition was started in America, thye decided to use the much larger and easier to sculpt pumpkin. Since then it has evolved into our Halloween, and now we do it to have fun with kids.

            Everyone starts out in the same way, you have to cut out the hole so you can get down and dirty. What five year old doesn't want to plunge their hands into the cold and gooey mess of pumpkin guts? Rhetorical question, of course. A pumpkin guts fight can often be the funnest part of your carving process. You have to be sure that you get all the guts out or you may be greeted by a rather interesting smell the next day. The hardest part is picking out the face that you want, do you want it to be happy, scary, sad, or not even a face but rather an artistic picture or design. The things that really creative people can do with this vegetable can be amazing, even doing script letters. But, you must be careful, because one wrong slice could leave your pumpkin permanently disfigured. I believe that this part can get rather nerve wracking. Finally you place your light inside and enjoy it in the cool autumn night.

            Most people know this simplistic process, and if you asked people to share their most creative pumpkin I bet you would be very surprised. Pumpkin carving is far more important than warding off evil spirits though, in modern times it is spending time with a small child, friend, family member, or whoever!