Since 2007, Halloween has become a meaningful holiday in the state of Alabama for several reasons.

Oct. 31 is the birthday of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, who celebrates his 66^th birthday. We all know Saban won’t be trick or treating.  It’s another work day for the man who put Alabama back in its rightful place atop the college football mountaintop. For a while, I didn’t think Alabama would ever regain its championship swagger, but Saban changed that.

Halloween also falls on the week of the Alabama-LSU football game.  The West Division title is on the line in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. With Saban formerly coaching at LSU, this game has become an intense, high stakes rivalry.

Top-ranked Alabama (8-0) has steamrolled opponents all year long, but I believe this will be The Crimson Tide’s toughest test in “Death Valley,” the nickname for Tiger Stadium.

Halloween also officially brings an end to warmer weather. The temperature rarely gets above 78 degrees and it drops from there.

The fall and winter months in the Black Belt Region will be interesting for me because I’ve rarely had cold weather where I used to live on the Gulf Coast. It’s been years since I had to deal with fall and winter weather.

As for the holiday itself, I enjoyed perusing various neighborhoods for assorted candies until my 13^th birthday. I had to stick with trick or treating a few more years to take my younger brother until I headed off for college.

My favorite candies are the Reese cup pumpkins and the variations of candy corn.  I’m also a big fan of the sugar cookies, with the sprinkles, not the frosting. Pumpkin cookies are another all-time favorite.

Here’s a guilty pleasure of mine, I often visit stores days after Halloween to get my favorite candies at a reduced rate. You can never go wrong with eating pumpkins in the fall.