Nielsen data reveals Americans spend about half a billion dollars on pumpkin spice products every year.Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc.
“But those modern-day traditions actually date back to much older traditions of associating the pumpkin with a small family farm. The idyllic kind of small family farm in American life.” She details the pumpkin’s rise from its poor reputation during colonial times, when it was seen as bland, to a growing sense of pride imbued in the vegetable during the 19th century as it started to be seen as a symbol of the simplicity of farm life.