A pumpkin is a healthy fruit with smooth, slightly ribbed skin. The pumpkin is a variety of a squash plant and although being a fruit, it is cooked as if it were a vegetable.

The pumpkin is also part of the popular folklore of many countries, such as American Halloween, but long before the spread of this "imported" festival, an autumn tradition was already celebrated in the Iberian Peninsula, especially in northern Portugal and Galicia, using hollow pumpkins carved as a face and illuminated inside by means of a candle. This Iberian tradition dates back to the Celtic era and the carved pumpkins are called "Cocas" or "Cocos" in Portugal.

With the evolution of traditions, the "coca" or "coco" has become a mythical creature, a kind of bogeyman who punishes children who have misbehaved. The pumpkin also appears in fables and traditional tales, such as "Cinderella" or the Portuguese tale "Run run, Small Pumpkin, run run Big Pumpkin".

If you want to represent this Portuguese tale in your school, or with your friends, ask your teacher, or your parents, to write to me abput it. Meanwhile, click on the drawing, print it out, and have fun painting it!

Pumpkins