Celebrating Samhain
Pumpkins aren't just for Halloween...
It’s no secret I love autumn, and Halloween technically marks the end of it.
I like Halloween and the fun of the season, but I also understand that for a lot of people, it’s either too much, or goes against their religious beliefs.
For me, pumpkins are a beacon of rich culinary colour this time of year; an autumnal squash/gourd/fruit that’s also pretty good for you nutritionally. You don’t have to carve faces in them, you can just eat them! I always make soup with the innards if I do carve one (or three), and carefully wash and lay out the seeds to dry, ready for roasting.
The seeds might be my favourite part.
I grew my own pumpkin this year - yes, singular - and it was touch and go from the beginning. I had other squashes too which didn’t survive the garden munchers and other perils, and even at the point of harvesting, I didn’t realise it was going to deepen into the orange we know and love as, well, ‘pumpkin’.
After laboriously peeling and chopping my ‘pumpkin baby’, I then made my first pumpkin pie. Turns out I’m the only one in my neurospicy household who actually enjoys the taste of pumpkin. It was still worth it.
I am *today old* when I realised you actually get white pumpkins. Where have I been?
Actually, I discovered this witchcraft at my local Pumpkin Patch. I also discovered, that despite paying to get in with all the family (plus a booking fee), that does not include even one teeny-tiny gourd for the price. I know - naive. I revelled in the experience of it though, kind of wishing it was a ‘thing’ when I was of an age to be beguiled by rows of pumpkins dumped in a field.
I also discovered this variety, which are surely going to inspire my pumpkin pattern designs for next year. The variegated skin is so appealing. The seeds were so much plumper too, and mysteriously very white. So cool. I can’t believe I haven’t seen these anywhere before?
Yesterday, I had a surprise delivery of cute clay pumpkins I’d made at the start of the month. I say ‘surprise’ because I’d forgotten all about them.
At first I was a bit disappointed the colours weren’t deeper and richer, and the stalks looked kind of wonkier than I remembered, but today, I appreciated them in all their quirky, misshapen glory. They’re me, made by my own hand; smoothed by my fingers. I was channelling Yayoi Kusama with the dots btw, though not with quite the same regimented verve. I’m never going to call myself a potter, obviously. But it was fun.
So there’s loads of ways to enjoy pumpkins, without getting tangled up in Halloween.
My son carved his first one tonight, while I hovered, panicking about the serrated carving-kit blade. A new milestone in our story, and more pumpkin flesh and seeds to process and make into something. I’m thinking a sweet option this time, like cookies or a dessert-style pie. Suggestions welcome.
Samhain itself marks the end of harvest and the beginning of winter. Nature herself is letting us know it’s time to transition, as the days get shorter, damper and darker. There’s a turning inwards, and an inclination to light candles and fires and slow down a little, in preparation for the ‘hibernation’ time of winter. It’s also associated with magic and witchcraft, marking the witch’s New Year.
I find myself drawn to the mystical and to the spirit world. Tomorrow will be All Saints’ Day, November 2nd All Souls’ Day. I wasn’t brought up in a particularly religious household, but of course I want to remember my ancestors and dearly departed when ‘the veil is at its thinnest’.
If Halloween Jack O’Lanterns were about warding off evil spirits, I certainly want to welcome and remember the benevolent ones. And I’ll light a candle to that.
PS. I’ve not written here like I thought I would, but I don’t need another thing to feel guilty about, or add to the mental load. I’m not going to wallow in apologies, I’m just going to write instead. So I’m back. Thanks for reading to the end <3
