As Halloween changed form a serious community religious ritual to a more secular holiday, and children became more involved, the introduction of candy and other sweets was only natural. Before the time of mass produced chocolate or other confectionary treats it was common to give children candied apples or caramel apples. While there were isolated stories of dangerous items being hidden in the apples after September 11th the practice of giving or eating candy apples from strangers has almost complete stopped.
Halloween is the single largest holiday for candy sales in the United States. Candy makers start preparations months in advance keeping the candy refrigerated in the hot summer months. You will usually see the first bags or boxes of Halloween candy hit the stores in the beginning of August. The average person in the United States eats 24 pounds of candy a year with the single largest percentage being eaten on Halloween or the days immediately following.
Candy Corn is another popular Halloween candy. It was invented in 1880 by the Wunderlee candy company and the recipe has remained unchanged to this day. Originally the candy was only produced part of the year as the factory had a shortage of workers and machinery and wasn’t able to operate the plant year round.
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