中秋節吃南瓜的傳統起源于江南窮苦人家吃南瓜的習俗。傳說很久以前，有一名叫黃花的女孩，出生在一戶窮苦人家，與年老多病、生活無法自理的父母同住。有一年八月十五，黃花帶回家兩只南瓜，煮給父母吃，兩位老人吃了之后病體痊愈。從此，這個中秋吃南瓜的傳統便代代相傳，保佑人們健康平安。

The tradition of eating pumpkin during Mid-Autumn Festival started with poor people living south of the Yangtze River. Legend has it that a long time ago, a girl named Huang Hua who came from a poor family, lived with her gravely ill parents who were unable to feed and clothe themselves. On August 15 on the lunar calendar of one year, she took home two pumpkins and prepared them for her parents, whose health was fully restored after eating the pumpkin. The tradition has been handed down for generations and eating pumpkin on Mid-Autumn Festival night is believed to bring people good health.