The oldest evidence, pumpkin-related seeds dating between 7000 and 5500 BC, were found in Mexico.

a night for dressing up, telling ghost stories, having spooky parties, trick-or-treating and pumpkin carving. What most people don't know is that Halloween is actually based on an ancient Celtic holiday known as Samhain (pronounced "sow wan"), which means "summer's end".

One technique is to coat all cut surfaces of the pumpkin with petroleum jelly immediately after they have been carved. This includes a light coating of the entire inside of the pumpkin. If you can't do the whole inside, at least try to coat the design that you've cut into the pumpkin.

With a long, thin bladed knife, cut out the top of the pumpkin around the stem of the pumpkin. The hole should be large enough to allow you to scoop out the guts (seeds and stringy membrane) by hand and with a large spoon. Generally, the size of the hole should be about two-thirds the diameter of the pumpkin. While you can cut a round circle out, you'll find that cutting a five or six sided opening will work the best. As you cut out the top hole, angle the knife so that the lid and hole will be somewhat cone shaped. This will help prevent the lid from falling into the hole. Now you can use a large spoon to scrap the inside walls of the pumpkin clean. Inspect the surface of the pumpkin to decide the best side to carve you face. Now, visualizing the face you want to carve, use your knife to carefully cut out the individual parts of the face or you can pre-marked the pumpkin by using a Crayon to draw the face onto the surface of the pumpkin and cut through the lines you drew. When you are finished cutting, carefully push out the pieces to view the final results.

Use candles. Candles are the traditional way of lighting a pumpkin and they're still much in use today.

For the pumpkin with a simple base hole: Light the candle first.

Place the pumpkin straight over the candle wherever you'd like the pumpkin sitting.

For the pumpkin with the top lid: don't try to light the candle first and then stick it down inside. You can burn your hand trying to do this. Place a non-lit candle in through the lid space. Make sure it's sitting firmly on the base of the pumpkin and will not fall over.

Light the candle. Don't try to reach from the lid. Instead, using a long fireplace match or a longer lighter, go through the front of the pumpkin, where it's carved.

You won't burn yourself using this easy method.

*ADULT SUPERVISION REQUIRED*

Use glow sticks, a false light, or glow in the dark paint! These are all ways to prevent a fire hazard for young ones.

• Painting pumpkins (DIY)
  
• Bejeweling them (rhinestones)
• Melting crayons on them (Look at Pinterest)
• You could look up "diy pumpkins" on Pinterest

Have a safe and fun Halloween everyone!