The Epilepsy Foundation’s Purple Pumpkin Project started with the goal of raising awareness and funds to support epilepsy research. The idea behind the project is that every time someone asks why a person painted their pumpkin purple, it creates an opportunity to talk about their experience with epilepsy. And, of course, spread the word on social media by tagging @EpilepsyFoundationofAmerica and @epilepsyfdn on Instagram and Twitter what colors can a pumpkin be and hashtagging with #PurplePumpkinProject. According to Good Housekeeping, the Epilepsy Foundation began the Purple Pumpkin Project in 2012 to bring awareness to childhood epilepsy and to raise funds for ongoing research. Homes that displayed purple pumpkins signified that the homeowner was taking additional COVID-19 precautions, like donning masks when answering the door and offering wrapped candy in grab-and-go bags.
Perhaps, as Jessica puts it, setting out white pumpkins will also encourage people to “open up their hearts to one another” on Halloween and beyond. In 2017, they opened Laurie’s Retreat of Hope, an event space where they pack bags, hold monthly support groups, plan their annual 5K, host a Thanksgiving feast and more — all in honor of Lynn’s sister-in-law, Laurie Anzivine-Ogle, who died of breast cancer in 2007. Similarly, if you see a child trick-or-treating with a teal-colored bucket, this is meant to indicate that child has a food allergy. Keep reading for the meanings of 13 different Halloween pumpkin colors. Holiday / 11 hours agoIf you received gift cards or money this holiday season but don’t know what to spend it on, narrow your options down by comparing this season’s popular gifts.
Rebecca is the former Managing Editor for both Mid-Peninsula Moms Blog and San Francisco Moms Blog. She and her husband moved to San Francisco from the East Coast in 2008 and love raising their two children in the city. Rebecca worked for two Fortune 500 companies in a variety of HR roles before surprising everyone, including herself, and leaving her job to stay home with her kids. She’s written for a variety of online parenting publications including Scary Mommy, Motherly, and YourTango, but promises that she can talk about non-parenting stuff in real life. The white Halloween pumpkin was inspired by a Facebook post with a poem written by a mother in mourning.
Reagan’s story has inspired social media users from California to Connecticut to display purple pumpkins, Erin says, as those in her own neighborhood and county have in the past; many are adorned with a lilac “R” before being shared, just one of the 2,000+ on Instagram alone. Online communities are crucial here, as the Epilepsy Foundation aims to raise $35,000 before Halloween, but the virality of the issue may drive medical treatment forward in the future. “It’s kind of staggering that more people live with epilepsy than multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s and ALS, combined,” says Erin, who hopes that children will one day have access to a cure. EVANSVILLE, Ind., – On Halloween, spirited trick-or-treaters will don costumes and go house to house, some toting plastic pumpkin pails of different colors. Those same pumpkins, which may have a special meaning based on the color, can also be found on doorsteps.
High in beta-carotene, fiber, vitamins A and C and potassium, blue pumpkins can also be cooked. They’re most often used for baking, boiling, steaming and roasting but since they’re on the sweeter side, Australian Blue pumpkins are usually used for pie fillings, cakes and scones. If there is a purple pumpkin on a doorstep it could mean that someone living there suffers from the illness.
One October night, while trying to fall asleep, Jennifer Giles was struck with the image of a white pumpkin. To her, this “pure and sweet pumpkin” symbolized her daughter, Madelyn Grace, who she lost at 38 weeks pregnant. The next evening, she spelled out her feelings in a poem, “The White Pumpkin,” and shared it on her personal Facebook page. It didn’t take long for her words to extend beyond her circle — her poem racked up nearly 900 comments and 11,000 shares.
Right now, I have three on my front porch, two on my back porch, two in my room and plenty more scattered throughout the house. Will there ever be enough to satisfy my love for the brightly-colored gourds? As a single mom, Laura says the Yellow Pumpkin Parade has taken on a life of its own over the years; sometimes, she feels guilty about where the project has landed.
A home with a purple pumpkin outside usually indicates support of epilepsy or that someone who lives there has or knows someone with epilepsy. These aesthetic beauties are the result of an intentional proprietary hybrid made by two pumpkin farmers in Pennsylvania. They then started the nonprofitPink Pumpkin Patch Foundationto raise funds for breast cancer research, too. In terms of energy, blue pumpkins indicate a rare energy since they themselves are rare.
In 2020, purple pumpkins appeared on many porches across the U.S. as a way to help raise safety awareness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Popularized through the “Teal Pumpkin Project,” this color is used to make trick-or-treating safer and more inclusive for children with food allergies. A teal pumpkin on a doorstep signals that the homeowner offers non-food trinkets and treats that are safe for all trick-or-treaters. Children with food allergies may carry around a teal pumpkin pail to let grown-ups know of their condition. As teal pumpkins signify a food allergy, blue pumpkins indicate autism.
A house with a blue pumpkin outside could mean that a child in that house isn’t participating in trick-or-treating and is potentially fearful and/or agitated by the ringing of the doorbell. It also could just be meant to indicate that the house in question supports trick-or-treaters who are on the spectrum. What better way to spread their messages than through color-coded pumpkins? Here’s what the colors mean and how you can help all trick-or-treaters at your door make the most of the Halloween.