"The Great Pumpkin is an unseen character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.

The Great Pumpkin is a mythical holiday figure (comparable to Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny) that appears to exist only in the imagination of Linus van Pelt.

 Every year, Linus sits in a pumpkin patch on Halloween night waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear. Invariably, the Great Pumpkin fails to appear, and a humiliated but undefeated Linus vows to wait for him again the following Halloween.

According to Linus, on Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch he deems the most "sincere". The Great Pumpkin then flies through the air to deliver toys to all the good little children in the world. Apparently, one can cause the Great Pumpkin to pass him or her by merely saying "IF he comes", as opposed to "WHEN he comes", which would appear to convey a lack of faith in the Great Pumpkin."