Halloween and pumpkins.

Halloween is consider as the scariest day of the year. Nobody can imagine Halloween without pumpkins for jack-o-lanterns and decorations. The pumpkin is most often
associated with Halloween, but there are other fruits and vegetables which has a very strong connection to this holiday. In England and Ireland, Halloween lanterns were originally carved out of turnips and large beets and faces of demons were cut into vegetables.People carried these lanterns and placed them by their doorsteps to frighten away evil spirits.
When Irish immigrants arrived in America, they found pumpkins abundant and much easier to carve than turnips so the tradition of turning pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns began.
In the Victorian era the apple played a significant role in determining a young girl’s future: she slipped an apple under her pillow on Halloween eve so she was sure to dream of her sweetheart.Apples were also used to foretell the identity of the man she was to marry. At midnight on Halloween a girl would stand in front of a mirror and brush her hair three times while eating an apple. It is said the image of her future husband would appear in the mirror over her shoulder.
In Mediterranean countries rosemary was placed over the cradle of babies to protect them. It was often burned with juniper and thyme as a means of cleansing the room of bad spirits and witches. Rue was hung from doorways and windows to ward off evil spirits to prevent them from entering the house.
Salvia, also known as meadow sage, was considered a symbol of immortality and was planted on graves in cemeteries to symbolize eternal life.
Salvia, also known as meadow sage, was considered a symbol of immortality and was planted on graves in cemeteries to symbolize eternal life.
Did you know that around 90 to 95 percent of the processed pumpkins in the United States are grown in Illinois?