As Easter approaches, you’ll find the candy aisle is once again restocked with pastel-colored spring chocolates. There is no question that candy is most closely associated with three major American holidays: Halloween, Christmas and Easter. However, the candies sold during each of these seasons vary greatly.
Each of the holidays have their own traditions, and these differences are clearly reflected in their seasonal candies. When you discover the nuances and differences between the typical holiday goodies, you can decide for yourself whether you prefer Halloween, Christmas or Easter candy. You might conclude that it’s too hard to decide, but regardless of your preference, it’s important to know about the different seasonal candies so you won’t miss out on any of the classics.
Halloween Candy
Halloween is unique from other holidays because it places more of an emphasis on eating everyday candy. Rather than creating specialized adaptations of these candies, like the heart-shaped Valentine’s Day chocolate boxes, Halloween candy covers all of your basic name-brand candy staples.
Tootsie Rolls, Snickers, Kit Kats, Whoppers, Butterfingers, Twix, M&M’s and Hershey’s chocolate bars are just a handful of the chocolate-flavored candies you might receive while trick-or-treating. Other candy typically handed out on Halloween night may be of a fruity nature, like Skittles, Sour Patch Kids and Twizzlers.
If you associate Halloween with the entire season of fall, other candies might also come to mind. For example, candy corn, pumpkin candy, caramel apples and even bonfire s’mores are all hits during the month of October. For those interested in making Halloween treats, there are several sites with fun, creative recipes on how to make candy ghosts, monsters and more.
Christmas Candy
You might be surprised at the wide variety of Christmas candies that line the shelves at your local grocery store during the winter season. Christmas-themed chocolates and candies like Reese’s Christmas trees are mass-produced and can be found anywhere. Furthermore, there are companies like Philadelphia Candies that customize and decorate normal products like Oreos for a special seasonal treat.
Candy canes are one of the most traditional and desirable candies at Christmastime. If you’re tired of the quintessential peppermint flavor, try a fruity or tangy flavor. Feeling extra generous? Give the gift of a giant Hershey’s kiss, already wrapped in red and ready to go under the tree.
Although there are numerous Christmas candies available in stores, you’ll find that Christmas is more well known for its homemade medleys of chocolate treats. For instance, fudge, Oreo balls and chocolate peppermint bark are common, rich delicacies that can double as candies to snack on. Other less-chocolatey holiday sweets include Rolo Pretzels with M&M’s, cranberry bliss bars, peanut butter truffles and gingerbread men. You can find the recipes for how to bake these treats and more here.
Some may argue that sweets like fudge are wrongly given the title “candy.” It may initially appear unfair to compare the special homemade goodies of Christmas to other holiday store-bought candies. However, according to many of their definitions, these assorted sugary foods are indeed considered candy. Thus, Christmas has countless candy options to choose from, making it a serious contender for the holiday with the best candy.
Easter Candy
When the Easter Bunny brings you a basket on Easter morning, you can probably guess a few of the delectable candies he’ll include. Perhaps the largest and most prominent of his tokens will be a chocolate bunny. The size of your chocolate bunny might range from the size of your palm to several feet tall, but the delicious chocolatey taste is guaranteed. The only question is whether the bunny will be hollow or solid chocolate, or if it’ll be filled with creamy caramel.
Even premium chocolatiers such as Ghirardelli have begun crafting their bite-size chocolate candies into the shape of miniature bunnies. But why limit the classic, must-have Easter candy to bunnies when it can be expanded into other symbols of spring? Since Easter is associated with springtime, seasonal specialties encompass other idyllic creatures such as birds and eggs.
You’d be surprised at how many egg-cellent egg-shaped candies are created for Easter. Peeps is a great illustration of candy’s expansion beyond the Easter bunny. Peeps has enlarged its focus beyond the original marshmallow bunny. They now sell marshmallow chicks as well as decorated marshmallow eggs. Reese’s also capitalizes on the holiday and produces its famous peanut butter eggs for the masses. The eggs are such a hit that people have written articles discussing why Reese’s eggs are so much better than normal peanut butter cups.
Additionally, Reese’s sells Reese’s Pieces pastel eggs as a smaller, alternative option to the peanut butter eggs. M&M’s eggs and Cadbury eggs are also extremely popular Easter candies that fly off the shelves, with Robin Eggs trailing behind them. Many avid candy consumers post reviews of the chocolate eggs and will get into heated debates over which chocolate egg is a more enjoyable product.
Have you picked a favorite yet? Whether you prefer one holiday’s candy over another, or if you simply love them all, don’t miss out on the holiday candy hits. If you need a traditional candy bar, then Halloween’s spooky season is for you. Christmas is the perfect time to whip out an apron and bake irresistible homemade candies. Easter is devoted to countless egg-ceptional specialty candies, particularly those in the chocolate realm. Check your calendar and make sure to mark down when the next holiday will occur — you do not want to miss the chance to try any seasonal treats.
