Pumpkin Haul || Sustainable Autumn Decor

Ok, I may have gone a bit overboard this year but when it comes to pumpkins I just can’t help myself.  I love the colors, the textures, and the general cozy feeling you get when you’re surrounded by pumpkins.  For those of you who don’t know I’m an October baby and this time of year has always been my favorite.  I have a ton of fond memories picking out pumpkins and carving them each year on my birthday.

One of my favorite things to do around this time of year is to decorate my home and make it feel extra autumnal.  Though I’m really trying to work on being more sustainable this year, especially when it comes to the holidays.  It’s really easy to get caught up in all the fun and cheap autumn and Halloween decor they sell at craft stores like Hobby Lobby and Michaels.  I’m trying to make a commitment to stay away from that stuff as I really want my home to reflect the autumn harvest and be more in line with how our Pagan ancestors would celebrate this time of year.  So for me that means decorating with natural materials such as corn, apples, and of course pumpkins.  

Pumpkins are a really important part of Pagan harvest celebrations.  Especially here in America where Samhain is celebrated by pagans & witches across the country and Samhain’s more consumerist cousin, Halloween, is of course celebrated by most Americans.

Pumpkins are a plant that is harvested in autumn making it a great symbol for harvest celebrations, though when it comes to the tradition of carving pumpkins we have the Irish to thank for that.  The tradition of carving jack-o-lanterns comes from an Irish myth about a figure named Stingy Jack.  Jack made a deal with the Devil and was forced to roam the land for eternity after he died.  The Irish would carve demonic faces, known as jack-o-lanterns, to scare away this wandering spirit.  Interestingly, the Irish would carve these faces onto turnips as pumpkins were not really native to the region.  When Irish immigrants came to America they brought the tradition of carving Jack-o-lanterns with them and started using pumpkins instead. 

So, I hope you enjoyed this short post and I’d love to hear about how you plan on decorating your home for Samhain/Halloween. Share in the comments below.