“Are we going to eat my pumpkin?”  said Lily. [After all, that’s always what we did with pumpkins in Tanzania.]

“Nope, we’re going to carve them,” I said.  “We will put faces on them.”

“Why?” said Lily.  

“Because it’s fun!”

“Why?”

Oh, the wonders of American tradition through the eyes of a four-year-old.  

You’re right, Lily, it doesn’t really make sense.  But doggone it, you’re going to experience the fun things we do in America.