1) Commenting on something from early in the episode: Late August might very much still be summer weather-wise, but by then it already gets sort of autumnal in the sense that the days are shorter (and the nights are longer) than in May, June, July, and early August. (By that latter metric, which is consistent with many pre-industrial cultures such as with the Celts/Druids, the late September equinox is actually the *middle* of the Northern Hemisphere autumn rather than the beginning.)
2) It's interesting how Australia and New Zealand haven't traditionally observed Halloween in the same way or to the same degree as in the US and Canada despite Australia getting quite a few Irish immigrants and both Australia and New Zealand (especially the latter on a per capita basis) getting quite a few Scottish immigrants. My guess is that morality rules widespread throughout the British Empire at the time of Queen Victoria in the mid/late 19th century did a number on Halloween observances in that part of the world, and by the time those rules were repealed in the early 20th century both Australia and New Zealand attained a significant degree of independence from Great Britain. (To this day, there's a debate in those parts over whether to accept the American style of Halloween observance, American influence having been increased by way of film, TV, etc.) By contrast, even though Canada was just as much in the British Empire at that time, it was much more influenced by the next-door United States.
1) Commenting on something from early in the episode: Late August might very much still be summer weather-wise, but by then it already gets sort of autumnal in the sense that the days are shorter (and the nights are longer) than in May, June, July, and early August. (By that latter metric, which is consistent with many pre-industrial cultures such as with the Celts/Druids, the late September equinox is actually the *middle* of the Northern Hemisphere autumn rather than the beginning.)
2) It's interesting how Australia and New Zealand haven't traditionally observed Halloween in the same way or to the same degree as in the US and Canada despite Australia getting quite a few Irish immigrants and both Australia and New Zealand (especially the latter on a per capita basis) getting quite a few Scottish immigrants. My guess is that morality rules widespread throughout the British Empire at the time of Queen Victoria in the mid/late 19th century did a number on Halloween observances in that part of the world, and by the time those rules were repealed in the early 20th century both Australia and New Zealand attained a significant degree of independence from Great Britain. (To this day, there's a debate in those parts over whether to accept the American style of Halloween observance, American influence having been increased by way of film, TV, etc.) By contrast, even though Canada was just as much in the British Empire at that time, it was much more influenced by the next-door United States.