Westside Messenger - October 6th, 2019

www.columbusmessenger.com October 6, 2019 - WESTSIDE MESSENGER - PAGE 5
Opinion Page
There is science behind our obsession with pumpkin
Life Moments
Christine Bryant
Every year around this time, my obsession
begins.
All things pumpkin.
Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin butter,
pumpkin candles, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin
pie Blizzards - I love it all.
Frankly, as we seem to be stuck in our
second summer and the leaves are still a
few weeks away from transforming into a
palette of warm reds, browns and oranges,
I could use some pumpkin to get me in the
fall spirit.
In fact, as I write this, I’m drinking a
pumpkin spice latte.
If you’re like me, you appreciate the
aroma and feeling you get when cinnamon,
nutmeg and clove attack your scent and
taste receptors. These sweet, warm spices
instantly sweep you away, giving you the
same comforts of hearing leaves rustling in
the wind and crunching under your feet on
a crisp, cool morning.
And here’s why you shouldn’t apologize
for your obsession with pumpkin.
It’s science.
You heard that right. Studies show that
we’re conditioned from a very early age to
love fall and everything associated with it.
Think about it. As a child, what are
some of our fondest memories? For some,
it’s going back to school and seeing friends
again. For others, it’s trekking through the
neighborhood with a plastic orange pumpkin
or pillow case from your bedroom full of
candy. Or, gathering around the dinner
table that’s stacked with comfort foods for
a Thanksgiving feast, followed by an afternoon
of football.
We associate these memories with
something we love and enjoy, and therefore
tie these memories to a specific season.
Even for adults, it marks a new beginning
for many. As summer comes to an end,
time turns into a clean slate. In fact, a
study published in the Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology found
there is a relationship between time and
motivation, and that seasons can serve as
temporal landmarks that structure our
perception of time.
There’s also the fact that many establishments
only offer special flavors associated
with a certain season (think peppermint
in the winter, or peach in the summer).
This has both economic and psychological
implications and may partially
explain why we’re especially drawn to a
certain flavor at a specific time of the year.
As it turns out, pumpkins also hold historical
significance in America. According
to the History Channel, pumpkins have
been grown in North America for 5,000
years.
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
adds that pumpkins were cultivated independently
by indigenous people in North
America and South America, and that
researchers have found seeds at archaeological
sites dating back more than 6,000
years.
Pumpkins also helped sustain colonists
after the crops they brought with them
from Europe didn’t survive.
And while the most popular pumpkins
today are grown to be porch decor rather
than a staple in our diets, pumpkins are
still a $5-billion-a-year industry, according
to the foundation.
Thanks to our pumpkin-flavored staples
that appear on store shelves each year in
September, even thousands of years later
we still know how to enjoy pumpkin, even
when it doesn’t make sense (there’s recipes
out there for dishes like pumpkin chili and
pumpkin burgers).
So next time you feel a little guilty about
loving everything pumpkin or like you’re
conforming to a cultural phenomenon, just
remember, your pumpkin bliss is a little bit
of history, science, expert marketing and
just plain goodness all in one.
Christine Bryant is a Messenger staff
writer.