Pumpkin decorations for Halloween

Herbst Kürbisse mit Mosaik

Autumn entices our creativity with richly coloured and formed decorative pumpkins. For our autumn decoration I choose a collection of flat shaped pumpkins

Pumpkins, to biologists also known as cucurbits, are counted among the oldest cultivated plants. For more than 12’000 years have people cultivated the multifarious plant. It was the calabash, a cigar shaped pumpkin,  that was first introduced in Europe and the Roman Empire via Egypt where it was known since about 2500 BC.

Kürbisse mit Keramik Steine - DIY

Being the ever practical and well organized the Romans gave it the „proper” name “curcubita” and then mostly used it as a container. It makes sense if we consider that some of these calabash can grow up to 10 meters long!

The Chinese cultivated pumpkins long before the Romans. They even gave the different shapes different meanings. Symmetrically grooved pumpkins symbolize Yin and Yang. And because the Chinese too used calabashes and other types of pumpkins as bins and bowls mostly to store medication and herbs they became the doctor’s and pharmacist’s emblem, symbolizing longevity.

Ernte von Flaschenkürbissen. Eine Miniatur aus dem Tacuinum sanitatis in medicina

Quelle: Wikimedia. Ernte von Flaschenkürbissen. Eine Miniatur aus dem Tacuinum sanitatis in medicina

In Africa pumpkins are symbols of fertility.

In America pumpkins also were used as symbols to drive away evil spirits. Halloween itself evolved from a combination of Celtic, Greek-Roman and Catholic traditions. The date is strongly related to the celebration of Samhain, the beginning of the Celtic calendar year.

Zierkürbisse Basteln  mit Keramik Steine

The original meaning of All Holies originates from the greek-roman celebration of the pantheon, the community of all goods. The Christians simply converted the springtime fest of the Pantheon to the celebration of all their holies. Finally in the eight century, Pope Gregor III, in dispute with Constantinopel’s  Emperor  Leo III simply moved the date to the 1st November. This also happened to be the time when Christianization of Northern Europe and Ireland was a main objective of the still young and expanding Catholic Church.

On Halloween’s eve, the pumpkin gets the main cast as it is transformed into a monstrous mask-like lantern named jack-o’-lantern after its first tragic owner from a medieval legend. Jack a poor chap who had made a pact with the devil consequently got stuck to walk this world as an undead with just a simple lantern made from a gourd.

Basteln Anleitung Kürbisse mit Mosaik Basteln

However, my little pumpkins  are all but friendly and cheerful. They are decorated with our Alea Micro Tiles (size 5x5x3mm). With the use of tweezers you can easily position and glue the little ceramic tiles to the pumpkins. And as pumpkins do not shrink or whither for many weeks the decoration can be kept until Thanksgiving.

An all purpose glue will work well with a small drop onto the tile‘s contact side.

Creativity knows no limits and quickly you will have your own collection of decorative pumpkins to keep or to give away.

If these pumpkins decoration makes you hungry for more then you will find plenty of creative ideas to feast your senses on our Autumn pinboard at Pinterest.

There you also find more pumpkins to delight you or scare you – as you wish!

Alea Mosaik Pinterest Kürbisse

 

 

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