There are a number of symbols associated with fall in the United States, but the pumpkin is one of the most important of them all!  Pumpkins are certainly important for the fall holiday of Halloween, as they are used to make jack o’ lanterns, but they are also important for the fall holiday of Thanksgiving, as they are used for making pumpkin pie. One of the reasons pumpkins are so well connected with fall season in America is because this is the time of year when they are ripe and they are believed to be indigenous of North America.  They certainly do grow well here.  In fact some pumpkins grow so well in America they can get as big as 2,700 pounds (1225 kilos)!  Can you imagine how big a pumpkin this size would be?  Well, here is a picture taken by National Geographic of a man next to one of these gigantic pumpkins.

It’s pretty big right?  So what do people do with these pumpkins you might ask?  Some people grown them to enter them into contests, some are used for eating, but the most amazing thing I have heard these large pumpkins be used for is boats!  Yes, that’s right, boats!  In fact there is a town in the state of Maine that has a pumpkin festival and pumpkin boat race (called a regatta) every year. If you don’t believe me you should see the video below of the pumpkin boat race they have at this festival.

Isn’t that amazing?!

Now, you can also practice more of your English by checking out the website for this pumpkin festival in Damariscotta, Maine.  Here’s the website: http://damariscottapumpkinfest.com/.

You can click around on the website and see the type of events that a fall festival like this in America entails.  You can also see pictures of pumpkin-related food and prize-winning pumpkins big and small.

With all this talk about pumpkins I’m curious to know if pumpkins are associated with any special holidays or with the fall season where you live?  Please leave a comment on this post to let me know if pumpkins have any special meaning in your country.

Also, don’t forget to check out all the amazing resources available to you at www.transparent.com and www.transparent.com/learn-english.