We already know that this Halloween will be different than it has ever been. This time the scary is real and it is not reserved for just one day. But … we have customs and traditions to keep. We can’t erase the things that give childhood it’s magic!
And oh what enchantment Halloween meant to us while we were children! It was as if the grown ups had finally lost their grip and given in to us little monsters! And strangely … they seemed to gain a fiendish amount of joy too. I realize now that the adults were visiting their own youth and times of carefree fun.
I think we ‘Baby Boomers’ hit the jackpot when it comes to Halloween! Candy became the true measure of how to celebrate the mystical night. In the 1930’s and 40’s if you went out trick or treating you might be given coins, bread, someone’s peculiar baked items and the like. But safety concerns caused parents to prefer the fully wrapped and commercially produced candies that America was making in greater varieties and bulk after World War 2. And speaking of bulk … Americans purchase approximately 600 million pounds of candy for Halloween every year. To give that some context consider this: The famously doomed ship The Titanic weighed about 100 million pounds. Now … envision SIX Titanics … made entirely of candy. Sweet Lord!
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Now it’s time to hit the ‘Listen on WLRN’ button at the top to hear the remainder of my show. ‘A Word On Food’ airs on WLRN every Saturday around 8:30 a.m. at 91.3 and also 91.5 on the radio. I want to thank so many of you who tell me in person how much you are enjoying the show! Please check out my Instagram photos and my new IG TV cooking videos @normanvanaken