More Than A Plant: Pumpkin

A pumpkin is a plant with a a very large dark yellow roundish fruit which grows in the ground. Pumpkins are usually orange, but they can also be white. They are shaped like spheres or stretched-out spheres. Pumpkins can be eaten, and are often turned into pies. Pumpkins can also be used for decoration, like when they are turned into jack-o-lanterns at Halloween.

Pumpkin pie is a traditional North American sweet dessert, eaten during the fall and early winter especially for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The pumpkin is a symbol of harvest time and featured also at Halloween. The pie is generally flavoured with nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger.
Many companies produce seasonal pumpkin pie flavoured products such as ice cream, coffee, cheesecake, pancakes and beer. Several breweries produce a seasonal pumpkin ale. All over the United States, it is traditional to serve pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving dinner.

In the story of Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother changed a pumpkin into a coach to take Cinderella to the ball, and people sometimes make jokes about turning into a pumpkin at midnight, especially if they have been late at a party etc, because this is what happened to Cinderella's coach.