From the city zoo to the country farm, pumpkin fever hit the Czech Republic this week as Halloween arrived.

In Prague, meerkats enjoyed a spooky season treat, tucking into pumpkins as part of an enrichment programme. Meanwhile, in a village about an hour from the capital, families explored a pumpkin paradise.

It was a good pumpkin harvest this year, says farmer Josef Pipek. Despite this summer's drought across Central Europe, the Pipek farm was able to harvest pumpkins of all different shapes, sizes and colours.

Halloween is a new holiday in the Czech Republic. Czechs traditionally mark All Souls' Day on November 2—a sombre holiday for honouring the dead. But Halloween—which has its roots in Ireland and the British Isles—has been catching on in recent years, with trick-or-treating, spooky decorations and parties all increasingly common sights.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (OCTOBER 30, 2026) (REUTERS - Access All)

1. VARIOUS OF MEERKATS PLAYING WITH PUMPKINS AT PRAGUE ZOO

NOVA VES U LESTINY, CZECH REPUBLIC (OCTOBER 30, 2026) (REUTERS - Access All)

2. ENTRANCE TO 'PUMPKIN WORLD'

3. ROWS OF PUMPKINS

4. CHILDREN RUNNING AROUND PUMPKINS

5. VARIOUS OF PUMPKIN PYRAMIDS

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) MARRIED PUMPKIN FARMERS, JAROSLAVA AND JOSEF PIPEK, SAYING:

JOSEF: "Although it was dry this year, we still managed to harvest a wide variety of types, a level of diversity we haven't really seen in other years."

JAROSLAVA: "It's quite surprising; perhaps we just happened to time the planting perfectly, as the drought didn't set in until later. You can certainly see the impact on the orange Mexican-style pumpkins, which ended up being much smaller in size."

7. VARIOUS OF FAMILIES EXPLORING PUMPKIN FARM AND PUMPKIN-THEMED INSTALLATIONS

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) COORDINATOR, JITKA PETEROVA, AGE 37, SAYING:

"This is our first time here; I'm here with my three-year-old daughter, and I have to say we're really enjoying it. It's so beautifully colourful, it has such a lovely autumnal vibe and there's so much for the kids to do. There are swings, pumpkin tunnels, and that pyramid behind me, it's absolutely stunning!"

9. PEOPLE BUYING PUMPKINS

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) ACCOUNTANT, IRENA NOVOTNA, AGE 30, SAYING: "We've been coming here for four years now, always around Halloween; we buy pumpkins here and carve them at home or, if the weather is nice, we carve them right here."

11. PEOPLE BROWSING PUMPKINS

12. (SOUNDBITE) (Czech) AMALIE AND MARKETA, BOTH AGE 13, SAYING:

AMALIE: "We come here every year; there's always a lovely autumn atmosphere."

MARKETA: "And we carve autumn pumpkins."

AMALIE: "And take some really nice photos."

13. VARIOUS OF CHILDREN CARVING PUMPKINS

14. VARIOUS OF CHILDREN PUTTING LIGHT IN NEWLY-CARVED JACK-O-LANTERN