ClaireMae Hoyt Peterson

The beginning of October brings beautifully colored leaves, chilly days, and the beginning of America’s rampant pumpkin obsession. For a limited time only, pumpkin spice candles and lotions and air fresheners and even kitty litter are socially acceptable (or at least marketed as if they were). Anything edible that can be pumpkin-spice flavored will be—and the nation basks in this season until the last bite of Thanksgiving pumpkin pie is gone.

Many of humankind’s earliest stories are about light. Creation stories of the Mesopotamian Babylonians, Egyptians, Hindus, and Jews all paint the world pitch black—then, a powerful god arises and creates light. The Ancient Greeks had a similar myth: Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humankind, a vitally important robbery with an equally high cost.

Here in the United States, pumpkins have come to symbolize autumn, accompanied by its holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving. But pumpkins are much more than just the inspiration for pumpkin-spice everything in October and November. Growing into every imaginable use culinarily and creatively, pumpkins have become an international sensation.