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Bert and Ernie pumpkins

Ernie and Bert with "Bert" and "Ernie" jack-o'-lanterns

JerryNelsonJackOLanterns

Jerry Nelson and Count von Count with Jerry and Count inspired jack-o'-lanterns.

Bert and Ernie pumpkins2

Bert and Ernie paint pumpkins.

A jack-o'-lantern is a carved pumpkin, typically associated with Halloween. The top of the pumpkin is cut off, the inside is hollowed out, and a face or other design is carved into the outer shell. Traditionally, a candle or light is placed inside the hollowed-out pumpkin to illuminate the design, creating a glowing effect. The custom of making jack-o'-lanterns originated from an old Irish myth about "Stingy Jack" and is thought to have evolved from the practice of carving turnips or other root vegetables.

Jack-o'-lanterns styled after Bert and Ernie were featured in the "Sesame Street Visits the Farm" View-Master reel, and the two characters appeared alongside pumpkins carved with their likenesses on the cover of the October 1990 issue of Sesame Street Magazine.

In some more modern practices, jack-o'-lantern faces are painted onto the pumpkins as an alternative to carving. Bert and Ernie painted their faces onto pumpkins in a 2017 "Backyard with Bert" short. (YouTube) In contrast, the "Pumpkin Face Song" the previous year sticks to tradition, describing the different faces one can carve on a pumpkin.

Beaker's head is carved into a jack-o'-lantern in the 2009 Muppet Labs web short "Carve-O-Matic 3000."

In the Muppet Babies episode "Oh My Gourd," the babies are preparing Halloween decorations. Since their pumpkin is too small to carve, Kermit uses Bunsen's "Grow-inator" to enlarge the pumpkin. However, he inadvertently makes the pumpkin come alive (and gain a jack-o'-lantern face). Kermit names the pumpkin "Jack," but the now-giant jack-o'-lantern begins to wreak havoc on the backyard. The babies eventually shrink Jack back to his regular size, and Mr. Statler and Mr. Waldorf bring a new pumpkin for the babies to carve.

The Mecha Builders episode "The Legend of Jack O'Lantern" focuses on the story of Jack O'Lantern, a folktale of a pumpkin-headed spirit who is said to peek out of his pumpkin burrow every Halloween, if he sees everyone having fun, he smiles and flies through the air, glowing bright orange and giving everybody treats. But if he doesn't see everyone having fun, he frowns and goes back in his burrow and there won't be any treats - only tricks. The story is only loosely related to the Stingy Jack concept at best, instead borrowing from the folklore surrounding Groundhog Day, blended with the Peanuts mythology of the Great Pumpkin. The visual depiction of Jack O'Lantern is similar to a 1972 Rankin/Bass special (on their anthology series Festival of Family Classics) called "Jack O'Lantern," where he's a carved pumpkin head on a scarecrow body.

"The Count's Halloween Spooktacular" at Sesame Place features a variety of Muppet-themed pumpkin decorations, including giant pumpkins shaped like Count von Count, Bert, and Ernie. Additional decorations and trick-or-treat kiosks with jack-o'-lanterns are styled after other Muppet characters, including Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Grover, and Zoe. A line of plush pumpkins and a pin set based on several of the characters were released as park-exclusives in 2022.

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