Maybe it’s because my father is a dentist, but for me, Halloween is all about the candy. October 31st was the one day of the year my parents suspended good sense and allowed my siblings and me to satisfy our sweet tooth unrestrained. And boy, did we wreak havoc on my father’s handiwork! Jawbreakers the size of golf balls; Tootsie Rolls that clung to our braces in gooey globs; Buttery caramels that threatened to scare the fillings straight from our mouths – it seemed we could hardly stuff our faces with the sugary confections fast enough.
Now that I’m grown and can eat what I want, candy no longer has the power to bewitch me the way it once did, although I still get that familiar craving once the calendar page flips to October. It turns out I’m not alone; according to the latest US Census Bureau’s Industrial Report, the average American consumed nearly 24 pounds of candy in 2008, the majority in October. Halloween accounts for over $2 billion in annual candy sales, about 25 percent of the annual intake.
And, despite the economic downturn, candy sales have remained sweet. In fact, the National Confectioners Association (NCA) reports that overall Halloween candy sales grew slightly in 2008, with sales of non-chocolate candy increasing nearly 3 percent, possibly a reflection of the price increases the chocolate industry has seen over the past year.
This year an estimated 36 million children between the ages of 5 and 13 will take to the neighborhoods for the annual Trick or Treat rites. What kind of treats should you give to avoid being hexed by pint-sized goblins and witches? Chocolate, says the NCA, which is preferred two-to-one over non-chocolate candy like Smarties or Skittles. And if you really want to be the hero of the neighborhood, hand out full-sized candy bars, long considered the Holy Grail of Halloween treats to the average trick-or-treater.
While these days candy is the preferred treat to hand out on Halloween, it wasn’t always that way. Halloween is one of the world’s oldest holidays, dating back to pagan times. It is believed to have its origins in the British Isles, emerging from the Celtic celebration of Samhain. On this day it was thought that the souls of the dead roamed the earth and required food and drink to placate them. To leave nothing would invite disaster and risk irritating the spirits, who, as a result, might help themselves to your belongings.
Apparently said spirits were finicky eaters and only the finest foods would do: mutton legs, vegetables, eggs, poultry, honey and wine were traditional offerings. As the centuries wore on, people began dressing like these creatures of the night and performing tricks in exchange for offerings of food and wine.
In America, Halloween began as a celebration of the autumn harvest and included hayrides, corn popping and taffy pulls. As Europeans immigrated to this country in the nineteenth century, their traditions merged with ours and Halloween evolved into our present day celebration with candy and sweets given to prevent costumed pranksters from playing tricks. Pity the poor soul who gives meat and potatoes to today’s trick-or-treaters – he may be in for an unpleasant surprise!
In addition to mutton and eggs, here are some “least preferred treats” according to the NCA:
• Fruit
• Salty snacks
• Toys
• Baked goods like cookies or granola bars
And while the NCA predicts the next big trend in candy will be healthier confectionery options and ‘better for you’ ingredients, some consumers believe that healthy and Halloween should never appear in the same sentence.
“Why even bother trick or treating?” asks Scott Fahey, a political science major at Cal State Fullerton. “Give a kid an apple for Halloween and you’re crushing a child’s dreams. I’m all for fighting childhood obesity and keeping kids from learning to eat garbage but I think that responsibility should fall on the parents. It’s not really the neighbor’s job to be a hero and take a stand on Halloween against bad eating habits.”
Fahey admits that he has never been that wild about candy himself, but when he does indulge he prefers chocolates like Three Musketeers and Mounds. As for recent fads such as fusion flavors and “gross out candy” like Zit Poppers, he hasn’t tried them but says he is intrigued, adding that even candy has to reinvent itself over time.
“You’ll always have the mainstays though,” he says. “Your big chocolate bars, Big League Chew, things like that.”
Indeed, on a recent trip to Party City I found the shelves loaded with mainstays like Snickers, M&Ms and Smarties, confirming what I suspected: When it comes to Halloween candy, people tend to go with what they remember eating as a kid.
Sure, there will always be the trendy Johnny-come-latelys like Radberry Tongue Painters (“Graffiti for your mouth!”) and Dr. Scab Chocolate Body Parts. But I doubt those gimmicky sweets will be around for long. Why not? Because they don’t offer what many of us truly crave at Halloween: a connection to our family and a tie to our past.
There’s a measure of comfort in the familiar and, while we may have forgotten exactly what that Snickers bar tasted like on Halloween 20 years ago, we will always remember how it made us feel.
Thanks, Mom and Dad. The memories are worth every cavity.
