the great pumpkin!

Halloween is my favorite holiday and it always has been. In Europe, Halloween does not have the same following as in the US. In the German supermarket ads this year they detailed Halloween and how to celebrate it, and each year it has an increased influence. This year, I decided to bring Halloween back into my life. I coerced the dear boyfriend into attending a 'Herbsfest' with me that I saw advertised in the local paper, because I saw the beloved 'Kuerbis' in the background of the photo.

This is a general celebration of fall/autumn and includes lots of booths that sell crafts with a fall theme, food booths, sometimes a flea market type of atmosphere, and often there are one or two booths that sell pumpkins, gourds, and anything fall.

I had scoped out the first booth at the beginning, looking at all of the 'jack-be-littles' and other assorted gourds hoping that there would be a second booth but mentally steeling myself for the possibility that there would not be. I had mentally picked out a runt pumpkin, because those of your who are lucky enough to go to the pumpkin patch with me know that I will pick the saddest pumpkin available because no one loves it.

When we came back the sad runt pumpkin was gone and I was in confusion. There was not another pumpkin that jumped out to say 'take me home'. I circled and circled. Dear boyfriend set down the backpack and patiently waited. Finally I realized. Germans do not like big pumpkins since they do not do Halloween and the whole carving and the candle in the jack-o-lantern thing. Instead they choose little pumpkins and gourds and nicely arrange them in a basket next to their front door.

And that was why this pumpkin--the biggest by far of the group, maybe 15 pounds--was left alone, at a price barely more than those half his size. (OK, adjusting for the euro to dollar conversion, he cost me 10 dollars, a bit pricey for a similar item in the US.) However, the joy he has brought has been immense.

The teenaged clerk who put up with my incessant circling and and put up with bad German when I explained I wanted an 'American' Halloween pumpkin was amused when we bought him. Then, as dear boyfriend carried him through the market and back to the bus station the Germans stared with mouths agape. Ok that is nothing new.

Then, as we were walking past some tables where people were singing those happy German songs, a nice man spotted us and shouted 'Geil Kuerbis!' (Cool pumpkin!) Dear boyfriend very nicely accompanied me on the bus to carry Mr. Pumpkin back to my car, instead of us parting there so that he could take the train home from there as originally planned. Once on the bus Mr. Pumpkin garnered much admiration, especially from a man sitting across from us, a real working class gent. Boyfriend proceeded to explain how we had just bought him and that he was a good pumpkin. Germans tend not to be overly friendly in starting conversations, so this was a real surprise. Boyfriend then knocked on the pumpkin and said it was a good pumpkin. This fellow then asked if could do the same. Mr. Pumpkin-making friends around the world. Then we caused some admiring comments from some older ladies as we left the bus.

Upon bringing Mr. Pumpkin home, I put him on my balcony, on the ledge so that all could see him in his Halloween glory.