The pumpkin is an orange fruit.
Its size may vary depending on the variety and the place it grows. Thus, there are some tiny specimen (500 grammes) and some gigantic (more than 500 kilos).

The world record was broken in 2008 during the competition organized by the “Belgische Pompoen Confederatie”. The biggest pumpkin weighted more than... 615 kilos!

Legends made the pumpkin a fruit like no other. There have been tales, and stories with pumpkins – Jean de La Fontaine wrote one of his poems entitled “The Acorn And The Pumpkin”. Then there was Walt Disney – the pumpkin turns into a coach to bring Cinderella to the ball.

But the pumpkin is most famous for the Halloween celebrations folklore. In the beginning, Americans used to carve pumpkins during the harvest period. It is only in the middle of the 19th century that Jack-O-Lantern became the most representative symbol of Halloween.

Jock-O-Lantern legend comes from Ireland. First known as “Jack Of The Lantern”, it tells the story of a drunkard who played tricks on the devil by promising him he will join him in hell and who hold him in his pocket which was locked by a cross so that the devil could not escape. The second time he came back, Jack did something similar.

Later on, when he died, God refused to admit him in heaven. The devil also refused to admit him in hell, but he gave him a burning charcoal that Jack put in his carved turnip which he used as a lantern. He was condemned to wander around aimlessly like a lost soul. This is why he comes back every year during the Halloween period.