All about pumpkins
Celebrated around the world annually on 31 October, Halloween has become synonymous with so many traditions. From watching your favourite spooky films to visiting haunted houses, dressing up, going trick-or-treating and pumpkin carving, there's plenty to do to get yourself into the Halloween spirit.
But why do we carve pumpkins at Halloween? And why are pumpkins associated with the spooky holiday to begin with?
Let's go through some fascinating facts about pumpkins, their Halloween origins and how they've become even more of a trend during the autumn season.
What is a pumpkin?
Typically round and orange, pumpkins are lanterns at Halloween, a staple in soups, and nowadays even a latte ingredient. But would you class the winter squash as a fruit, a vegetable, or something else?
Well, a pumpkin is technically a 'pepo', also known as a false berry. Pepos are categorised separately from other berries as they develop a hard outer rind and have a fleshy interior with seeds. Pumpkins develop from the flower's ovary and contain seeds - and other examples of pepos include cucumbers and watermelons.
However, people often think of them as vegetables and from a culinary perspective, they are used in a lot of savoury dishes. Pumpkins are often roasted or puréed, creating the likes of hearty soups and stews. Many people like to roast pumpkin seeds to eat or add to various meals.
Why are pumpkins associated with Halloween?
The word Halloween comes from All Hallows’ Eve. This marks the day before the Christian holiday of All Hallows’ Day - also known as All Saints’ Day. But the origins of the holiday go back much further.
Halloween's origins can be traced back to the pagan festival of Samhain (pronounced Sow-in), first celebrated by the Celts of ancient Europe. In this tradition, Samhain was New Year’s Eve, as 1 November marked the start of the new year.
It signified the end of the warm harvest months and the arrival of colder weather. But at this time, it was also believed that the barrier or veil between our world and the world of spirits, was at its thinnest and that spirits could walk among the living. To scare them away, the Celts would have massive bonfires and even wear disguises to be unrecognisable to spirits.
Pumpkins have long been synonymous with Halloween, from carving Jack-o'-lanterns to creating homemade soups and pies. But what do pumpkins actually have to do with Halloween?
Originally broadcast on 27 August 1998, the below BBC Archive video was filmed for BBC's the Weather Show. In the video, Meteorologist Philip Avery asks the president of the Folklore Society, Dr Juliette Wood, to explain what pumpkins have to do with Halloween.
BBC Archive offers a unique collection of thousands of archive films, capturing life and events across the UK since the 1940s.
Meteorologist Philip Avery begins the segment, speaking to camera
Philip Avery says: "Now, pumpkin harvesters welcome a certain amount of rain as the water does help them swell. Thereshould be quite a few lighting up events this weekend.
"Pumpkin lanterns have long been part and parcel of Halloween parties. But just how much have pumpkins really got to do with Halloween?"
Philip Avery looks to a TV behind him, which transitions into a montage
President of the Folklore Society, Dr Juliette Wood, says: "When Halloween first began, pumpkins had absolutely nothing to do with it. The roots of Halloween are very complicated. It's a multi-leveled feast. But some elements are certainly very old.
"And one of the elements is the festival of Samhain, which was celebrated in at least some parts of the Celtic world. Now, Samhain was a very curious festival because it was at one of the great turnings of the year. It was the time when summer was ending and winter was just about to begin. And there was certainly this fear always going into winter that perhaps some of them wouldn'tsurvive.
"Starvation was a real… a real possibility, a real threat. And Halloween was a festival which acknowledged this change. There would be a lot of eating and drinking, because of course you would have to eat the fruits of the harvest, you would have to eat the animals that couldn't be kept over winter.
"The fires were lit for various numbers of reasons. It was a symbol of man's ability to control the environment. He could light the fires. It was a way of attracting the good spirits. They were attracted to the home fires, literally. It was a way of repelling witches and bad spirits.
"It's also linked symbolically with the natural light, particularly the light of the sun and the warmth and the expectation of spring coming. And it did indicate their knowledge, their understanding, that the seasons would cycle again and again.
"During the 19th century, a lot of Irish, a lot of Scots emigrated to Britain, to the United States. They brought their celebrations with them, and Halloween was one of the ones that seemed to have taken root in America. It fits in very well with the American climate. There was a strong, long harvest festival, often Indian summer at the end of October. It was a perfect time to celebrate.
"The pumpkins with Halloween… It proved to be an inspired choice. They are a very plentiful vegetable in the United States, and they ripen at this time of year. They carve very easily. So the older custom of using turnip faces, turnip faces with candles put in them, is very easily replaced by sort of pumpkin faces with candles in them. And in addition, the flesh of the pumpkin can be made into all kinds of lovely things, in particular pumpkin pies, which will also have become a mark of the season.
"Once Halloween became established in America, it was reworked, polished up a bit, turned into the very jolly festival that it is now, was subsequently re-exported to Britain, where similarly it flourished because it had always been there to start with. It's not so much associated with the dead or the spooks or anything macabre, but it is associated essentially with the kind of weather that predominates at this time of year."
Camera cuts back to Philip Avery
Philip Avery concludes: "Weather gets everywhere, doesn't it?"
Video ends
Why do we carve pumpkins on Halloween
Carving a pumpkin, or a Jack-o’-lantern, has long been a tradition of many families in the UK and beyond for Halloween. In case you didn't know – a Jack-o’-lantern is a hollowed-out pumpkin which has a face carved into it, with a candle or light placed inside.
A traditional Halloween decoration, in recent years many have opted for more intricate designs, carving everything from text to celebrities into their pumpkins. But where did the Jack-o'-lantern come from?
Well, there are several popular stories that claim to be the origin story of the Jack-o'-lantern. But the most popular is perhaps the story of Stingy Jack, which comes from a 17th century Irish folktale.
After tricking the Devil, Stingy Jack is said to have been punished to roam the Earth in darkness with just a small ember to light his way. Jack is said to have put the ember into a carved-out turnip to help guide him – starting a tradition of carving turnips and other vegetables with scary faces to frighten away his wandering soul.
But generations later when Irish immigrants moved to the United States, they began carving the native pumpkins instead. Today, the tradition has continued, and some decorate pumpkins in other ways like painting them or bedazzling them with gems.
The British Society for Surgery of the Hand advises children under 14-years-old should not carve a pumpkin.
How long will a pumpkin last?
Most sources state that if an uncarved pumpkin is kept in a cool, well-ventilated and dry environment, it can last up to 12 weeks. But this all depends on the condition of the individual pumpkin and how it is stored.
On the other hand, carved pumpkins survive for a much shorter time. Most last a few days after being carved before they begin to soften and rot.
In September 2026, BBC News reported how following the UK’s hottest summer on record and drought conditions, growers have seen pumpkins be smaller in size and ripen earlier than usual. This year, many have also stated they have faced challenges growing pumpkins.
But if you’re curious what do to with pumpkins after Halloween, don’t worry – we've got some suggestions. If your pumpkin is in a good condition and hasn't been sprayed or eaten, you can roast it in the oven, make pumpkin pie or pumpkin soup from the flesh inside. In the USA and Canada, pumpkin pie is also heavily associated with the holiday of Thanksgiving.
You can also recycle what’s left of your pumpkin in several ways that are good for both your garden and the environment.
What is pumpkin spice?
When autumn time comes round – it’s not just physical pumpkins that are all around. In recent years, there’s been a craze of pumpkin-themed food, drinks and merchandise to get people in the mood for the season and Halloween.
Today, you can buy anything from pumpkin cake loaves and syrups to pumpkin scented candles, body wash, pyjamas with illustrated pumpkins on them and more. But what is pumpkin spice?
Well, most of the time, pumpkin spice doesn’t contain pumpkin. Pumpkin spice is usually a blend of ground spices – typically cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger – used to flavour pumpkin pie.
The pumpkin pie spice blend was advertised back in the 1930s in American newspapers by well-known brands. But pumpkin spice began to soar in popularity in the early 2000s when Starbucks launched their pumpkin spice latte. The famous coffee chain is said to have kickstarted the popular-culture movements of the autumnal drink staple.
And while the likes of matcha,ube and hojicha have become more recent on-trend drinks, it looks like the pumpkin spice latte is still here to stay.
This article was written in October 2026
