"Pumpkin skulls are foreign to the spirit of our town" – mayor bans Halloween pumpkin carving

We wouldn't think that Halloween pumpkin carving could stir up such emotions as it has in Zebegény over the past few days. The situation now is that the local mayor, Ernő Ervin Ferenczy, has banned the pumpkin carving event planned for the afternoon of October 31 in Zebegény's main square, saying:

"Halloween and 'death pumpkins' are foreign to the spirit of Zebegény."

According to the mayor's post, this is not to be taken lightly: as he explains, the event was organized by two new municipal councilors, Réka György and Dóra Kovács, and it would have brought "foreign cultural customs" to Zebegény. There, "All Souls' Day is a time of silence, candlelight, and prayer—not 'pumpkin fun or scary decorations.'" The mayor then goes even further, saying that "the sight of jack-o'-lanterns and playing with figures of death is not only culturally alien, but also has a negative impact on children's mental development."

The post also reveals that Ferenczy's problem is not with the tradition of pumpkin carving itself, but with the fact that it has to be held on Halloween. "My decision is final, and it is in favour of Zebegény. The event cannot be held on October 31—neither on legal, moral, nor cultural grounds. (...) Zebegény is not a Halloween village, and it never will be," the post reads.

We last wrote about Ernő Ervin Ferenczy in September, when it emerged that the mayor had used artificial intelligence to post comments, but had been caught.