Halloween Capitol Of The World!

Living in the self-proclaimed "Halloween Capital of the World" reminds me, every year, of what a strange and wonderful tradition this is. Many communities have taken steps to eradicate this custom, some with success. It makes the festivities we have here more elaborate and well attended each year. The curious thing about it is that any elements of Satanism or witchcraft it may have are strictly in the minds of those who are convinced that this custom is ungodly or pagan.

Our festival started in the 1920's by the chamber of commerce as a way of minimizing youthful pranks and vandalism. We have parades (a kiddy parade during the week and a full fledged one on the week-end before), a 10K run, many people decorating their yards and homes, a haunted house at the fairgrounds, and the downtown bars (both of them!) have a tent with music. It is good clean fun. Call it square, if you must, but the young kids love it (as do most of the older ones!) Tomorrow night the kids will come for Tricks or Treats, and many will be driven here from less congenial towns. Its OK by me, if we can't let our children have one night a year to play with the darker side of life, we might as well skip childhood altogether.