History and Use of Carved Pumpkins

Do your children know where the custom of carving pumpkins came from? One of the ways to teach children fun and important facts is to make a placemat with important facts on it and have it laminated (if you want to use it more than once).  For Halloween dinner you could make pumpkin shaped placemats and type or write some interesting facts about Halloween, pumpkins, where Ireland is - you get the idea.

Have you ever wondered where the tradition of carving pumpkins came from?  It is actually based on an ancient Celtic holiday, Samhain (pronouned sow wan), which means the summer's end.  The Celts believed that October 31st was a magical night when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead was very thin.  They carved turnips or gourds, put burning lumps of coal inside and set them in windows or on porches to welcome their deceased ancestors and to ward off wicked spirits.  When people immigrated to America they brought their traditions with them - the Irish brought their tradition of carving gourds.  When they found pumpkins, which are indigenous to the western hemisphere, they began carving them into jack-o-lanterns. However, it wasn't until the late 1800's that Halloween really became a celebrated holiday in the United States.

What can you do with a carved pumpkin???  Make pumpkin puree and use it in your recipes.  We're going to make pumpkin cookies and pumpkin bread.

Materials Needed: to make pumpkin puree you need; a pumpkin, an oven and a  blender

Recipe for Pumpkin Puree
 You may use one of the pumpkins you've carved for Halloween, make sure that there is no mold and that the pumpkin is still fresh. If you're going to use an uncarved pumpkin, split the pumpkin in half, clean out all the seeds.  Place halves face down (or cut side down) in a baking dish.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour.  Peel the outer skin and put pumpkin meat through a Victorio Strainer or use a blender.  Refrigerate the puree until your ready to use it.

This can be a reading and a writing activity.
Have your children help make pumpkin cookies or pumpkin bread by reading the recipe and following the instructions.
Have your child copy the recipes onto a 3 X 5 recipe card.

Pumpkin Bread  - From a cookbook, "Favorite Recipes", by Tammy Rasmussen & Friends
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup softened butter
2 cups flour
2  1/2 tsp. bking powder
1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Mix the first five ingredients.  Mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.  Pour into a greased bread pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 - 60 minutes.

Pumpkin Cookies
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
4 cups flour
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups chopped nuts(optional)
2 cups choppen dates

Cream together butter and sugar.  Stir in pumpkin and vanilla.  Stir in dry ingredients.  Add dates and nuts(nuts are optional)  Drop on to cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10- 15 minutes. Frost with cream chesses frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cup powdered sugar
2 (8 oz) cream cheese
4 T. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Mix all ingredients together until smooth.

We hope you'have enjoyed this blog of fun Halloween ideas that can encourage reading,writing and research.
We will be doing fun Thanksgiving ideas starting the first week of November so be sure to check back.  Thanks for following.