“Pumpkin Carving Party” for Halloween

Carving pumpkins into jack-ó-lanterns to make odd and cute lanterns is part of the joyous Halloween festival which is very exciting and attracts many youth.

Halloween is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries, mainly in United States, Canada, England, North Ireland, and Ireland… on October 31.

The American tradition of carving pumpkins is recorded in 1837 and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century.

The turnip has traditionally been used in Ireland and Scotland at Halloween, but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin, which is both much softer and much larger – making it easier to carve than a turnip. Subsequently, the mass marketing of various size pumpkins in autumn, in both the corporate and local markets, has made pumpkins universally available for this purpose. The American tradition of carving pumpkins is recorded in 1837.

These are some photos of the “Pumpkin Carving Party” by the Vietnamese and Asian students at Cascadia University, Kirklands, Washington state, USA.

Pumpkins are being carved into jack-ó-lanterns by young students which each of them make by themselves

The first step is carving holes in the top of the pumpkin, removing the seeds and guts, and inserting candles

….after that print the desired shape on the face of the pumpkin

The most difficult step is carving and trimming. It requires skillful and careful hands

And this is the result of carved and trimmed lanterns after hours

A completed pumpkin jack-ó-lantern, by a skillful sculptor, after a few hours of trimming and piercing

The pumpkin looks very impressive with a devil’s face

Besides the making of pumpkin lanterns, the group also prepared unique costumes