Why is Halloween in the Fall?

My class has been making ABC's of Weather books this week. They have to think of a weather-related word for each letter of the alphabet, then put it in their book and illustrate it. For some, this has been quite a challenge. After 3 days of struggling, one little guy finally decided he should collaborate with a friend. They got to "O" and got stuck. First they came up with "hot" which was, of course, vetoed because it doesn't start with "o." Then they tried "Open Season." Right letter, no connection to the topic at hand. A nearby child suggested "October." I told them they could use it if they could relate it to weather. A lengthy discussion followed about Halloween, October and whether it is cold or hot at that time of year. One of the boys realized that October is when the leaves change. (This is where I started to think we might be getting somewhere . . . I'm always jumping to conclusions.) I asked, "And why do the leaves change colors?" His very sincere answer . . .


"Because it's Halloween and they're dressing up."