Hi, I'm Jim Denison with Dennis in Form, and this is the Daily article for Wednesday, October 31, 2018.

A town has changed its name to Huntington at the urging of a seven-year-old.

Second-grader Angelica D. Cunningham wrote to the town council of Huntington, New York,

suggesting that they make the switch for Halloween. To her surprise, they agreed.

Their decision may be a parable for our culture today. Americans are not unique in celebrating Halloween. Romania has a day of

Dracula. Japan stages a giant parade. Children in the Philippines go door to door to ask for prayers

for those in purgatory. Nor do we devote more time and money to Halloween than

other holidays. We will spend $9 billion this year on costumes, candy, and decorations,

but are Halloween spending pales in comparison to our spending on Mother's Day, Father's Day,

Easter, and Christmas. Nonetheless, I believe Halloween may reveal more about American culture

than any other holiday.

Here's why.

Halloween is a contraction of all Hallows Eve, the evening before All Saints Day.

Tomorrow, the Catholic Church will focus on the saints of the church.

This tradition began in 8609 and encourages participants to remember and emulate the heroes of the faith.

Tonight, by contrast, the focus will be strikingly different.

Fifteen million American adults will dress in costumes.

Witches are the most popular, followed by vampires, zombies, and pirates.

If your neighborhood is anything like mine, you've been haunted by ghosts,

skeletons, and dragons for weeks.

Some 69% of Americans plan to

participate in Halloween today. Since that's three times the percentage of Catholics in America,

...