How to make a candle out of a Halloween pumpkin

The pumpkin is the most representative symbol of Halloween

If you are thinking of decorating your home for the Halloween party, there is one thing that you cannot miss: A gloomy pumpkin. And if you also do it, much better! So it will be unique and to your liking. To help you, we are going to explain in this article how to make a candle with a Halloween pumpkin. Before doing so, we will also discuss why this vegetable is so important during this holiday and which type is better for carving shapes.

This task is not only simple, but it is also very fun and ideal to do as a family. I recommend that you keep reading to find out how to make a candle with a Halloween pumpkin and thus decorate your home with something from you or your loved ones.

What is the meaning of pumpkins on Halloween?

The original idea was for pumpkins to be lanterns on Halloween

Even being more typical in the United States, we can also find some decoration for the Halloween party in Spain, especially pumpkins. These can be real or plastic or ceramic figurines. Nevertheless, they always tend to have a face, usually scary. Some can even be accompanied by lights or a candle inside. But why pumpkins? What do they have to do with Halloween?

Pumpkins with a grim face carved are not only decorative, but are the most popular symbol to represent Halloween. However it was not always so. In ancient times, during the night of the dead, the Celts used turnips to create small lanterns. These were not only used to illuminate, but also to honor the dead. All right, turnips aren't squash, of course. So why that change?

As it turns out, after the arrival of the Irish to America, they did not have turnips in those new lands to continue with the tradition. Instead, yes there were pumpkins in abundance. Apart from the fact that there were large quantities of this vegetable, it is also very easy to prepare it as a lantern, or a street lamp.

What kind of pumpkin is used for Halloween?

The ideal pumpkin to make a Halloween candle is the etample

Before explaining how to make a Halloween pumpkin candle, it is important to know which type to use for this task. As you have to carve drawings on it, it has to be large, weighing between five and six kilos. Usually, the color of these vegetables is a deep orange.

Among all types of pumpkins, the ideal is the etample, also known as a Halloween pumpkin. Although its origin today can be from different places, this variety is originally from France. Although a priori it may seem merely decorative, it can also be used for the kitchen. In fact, in order not to throw away the leftovers of the pumpkin that we are going to carve, we can use them at the culinary level.

There are some countries, such as England, that offer different varieties of this type of pumpkins. These are specifically selected to decorate the home for Halloween. They generally differ from the others by have a less hard skin and be semi-hollow inside. Thus, the process of emptying them is much easier.

How to make a Halloween pumpkin?

To make a candle with a Halloween pumpkin you have to empty it first

I think we're ready to figure out how to make a Halloween pumpkin candle. Before we start, let's make sure we have everything we need on hand:

  • A beautiful pumpkin and the size that we prefer.
  • A short candle that has a wide base.
  • Lighter or matches.
  • A spoon and a knife.
  • A pen or pencil.

Once we have everything, we have to get down to work. We will discuss step by step what we have to do to create a Halloween pumpkin with light.

Step 1: empty the pumpkin

The first thing to do is choose a pumpkin that we like. The bigger it is, the easier it will be to carve a terrifying face on it. However, before we can start with that part, we must empty it. But how do we do it? Well, it is very simple. We have to open this vegetable from the top, creating a lid through which we will extract the juicy content.

With the help of the spoon we can remove all the seeds and scratch the walls and bottom of the pumpkin well. It is very important that the bottom is homogeneous and smooth, this way it will be more difficult for the candle that we will place at the end to tip over. If you feel like throwing away all that pumpkin filling, don't worry. You can toast the extracted pipes and make a puree, sauce or even a cake with the rest of the internal part.

Step 2: Design the face

Once the pumpkin is completely empty inside, we have to design the face that we want to carve on it. Usually, quite gloomy designs are made for Halloween. However, we can choose the type of face we want to make, or even carve something else entirely.

Once we have it clear in our mind, we have to draw the silhouette with a pen or pencil on the pumpkin. In the event that crafts or art are not our thing, we always have the option of looking for examples on the internet to inspire us or use a template, of which we can find many on the net.

How to carve a Halloween pumpkin
Related article:
How to carve a Halloween pumpkin

After we have finished translating the design onto the vegetable, It is time to take the knife and cut it. If we finally do opt for a face, we must cut out the mouth, nose and eyes. To make it perfect, it is advisable to polish the edges later.

Step 3: light the candle

Finally there is only one thing left: Place the candle in the bottom of the pumpkin and light it. Before setting fire to it, we should make sure that the candle does not tip over. Once it is turned on, all that remains is to put the lid on and that's it. To see the result, it is best to turn off the light and enjoy the Halloween atmosphere.

Now that we know how to make a candle with a Halloween pumpkin, we can decorate our home, garden or entrance with several of them. Of course they will make your home unique and special for these dates.


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