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What day is National Pumpkin Day celebrated? October 26.

What is National Pumpkin Day? National Pumpkin Day celebrates the pumpkin, which is an autumn decoration, topic of festivals, and wonderful food. Pumpkin pie is a staple for Thanksgiving.  

The world record pumpkin was set by a Belgian man on October 9, 2017 that weighed in at a whopping 2,624.6 pounds.

Here are some other fun pumpkin facts according to one source:

  • The word ‘pumpkin’ showed up for the first time in the fairy tale Cinderella.
  • Pumpkins are grown on every continent except Antarctica.
  • Over 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkin are produced each year in the United States.
  • Morton, Illinois, calls itself the “Pumpkin Capital of the World.” According to the University of Illinois, 95% of the pumpkins grown in the U.S. are harvested in Illinois soil. Morton is allegedly responsible 80% of the world’s canned pumpkin production.
  • Each pumpkin has about 500 seeds. And they take between 90 and 120 days to grow.
  • There are more than 45 different varieties of pumpkin. They range in color like red, yellow and green, and have names like Hooligan, Cotton Candy and Orange Smoothie.
  • Pumpkins are technically a fruit.

How to celebrate: Enjoy something pumpkins today, whether it is a pie, bar, cookie, coffee, cheesecake, pasta or oatmeal. Other suggestions are to visit a pumpkin patch or festival. Be sure to do jack-o-lantern carvings. Don’t forget to post pictures or recipes to social media.

What is the hashtag? The hashtag for National Pumpkin Day is #NationalPumpkinDay.

What other national days are there for pumpkins? Several other national days have sprung up to celebrate pumpkins, including:

  • National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day October 21
  • National Pumpkin Pie Day December 25
  • National Pumpkin Seed Day October 3

There are many other national days relating to food. In fact, National Day Archives has a separate category just for Food