Why it matters:
The playing of the song is a German tradition. Each year, typically on the night before Halloween, mom or dad starts playing the piano as the kids are falling asleep on the couch. It starts out sounding like a suspicious lullaby, then frantically loudness and quickens, causing the kids to jolt awake. The other parent then instructs the children to get ready for bed, brush their teeth, wash the dishes, etc while mom or dad is playing the rest of the song.