How Candy And Halloween Became Best Friends

The Atlantic:

Wherever you turn this October, candy beckons. Americans will spend an estimated $2 billion on candy during the Halloween season this year, and here's a fun fact from the California Milk Processors Board: "an average Jack-O-Lantern bucket carries about 250 pieces of candy amounting about 9,000 calories and about three pounds of sugar."

Phew. My molars are hurting just thinking about it. If treats are a temptation you hope to avoid, October is the cruelest month. And I can think of only one place in America where your Halloween composure is unlikely to be ruffled by endless quantities of cheap and glittering candies: the past.

Given the ubiquity of candy at this time of year, it is hard to imagine that 100 years ago, Halloween looked quite different from the candy debauch of today.

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Comments

[Nicole Dixson]

03:27 AM on 10/24/2010

Candy Corn (Brachs only) is the best part about Halloween!! Yummy!

[isis]

08:02 PM on 10/23/2010

I am going to give little cans of playdough this year.

[powerhuff]

06:16 AM on 10/23/2010

rrrrrrrrright

[tobynsaunders]

05:41 PM on 10/22/2010

Giving random kids candy is perverse... even given it to kids you know is pretty perverse... it does them no good, it's unhealthy & some of it is drugged (caffeine is an addictive stimulant... an 'upper').

[Callah]

04:52 PM on 10/22/2010

That was cute....thank you for the story.