National Candy Making Day

Hans Schwarzkopf

Picture of candy.

Imagine this: you are running down the street as your little 9-year-old self, and you smell something sweet. The aroma of sweet melty chocolate hits you hard, and you look over and see a bright blue sign, reading “Candy shop”. Well, what if I told you on February 1st it will be national candy making day! #candymakingday will be on over 5,000 posts on Instagram, and foodies will be living for this! They will be showing how to make homemade peppermint candy, Valentine’s day chocolate, and peanut butter cups. Let me take you on a tour of this goofy national holiday!

You are most likely going to ask, “why would anyone make such a goofy, yet stupid holiday?” Trust me, I asked myself that as well. Who would pass such a silly holiday? My guess is that, while writing up the bill for this, they just got a little snack-ish. Sadly this was not true, but that would be a sick way to have a national holiday made, am I right? So through my research, I
realized there are actually a lot of sugar holidays! There is just plain candy day, sweet tooth day and even some for specific candies like taffy, jelly beans and M&M’s. America definitely likes sugar and likes to celebrate its place in our lives! For this specific holiday, it is meant to be celebrated by eating candy or serving candy to others. Seems easy right? Well for you properly to celebrate, you must make your own candy for you or others to enjoy!

To celebrate, you can look online and find lots of recipes for making hard candies, carmels, or chocolates. It can be fun to learn how to make something new but if you aren’t especially crafty you might have to follow the old adage that “it’s the thought that counts.” There is nothing that makes someone smile quicker then candy. When you put in the effort to hand make something, it becomes obvious that you care and especially in today’s stressful atmosphere it would mean a lot to someone! I think that this year national candy day could be a lot of fun to celebrate! I think you could even get away with a store bought treat if you had too!

Americans love sugar– it lifts the spirit, gives us a quick burst of energy and can be very satisfying on a busy day. Fun fact: did you know that America is the 12th fattest country according to ProCon.org, contrary to popular stigma? While writing my article, I asked myself how come I have not heard of this before? Like, come on, it’s candy! Lots of us grew up sneaking smarties or lollipops in our 4th-grade classrooms. Also, a fun fact about Americans is we love Reeseś peanut butter cups and Skittles. We really do not like candy corn but we still buy it for traditions sake!

There are so many fun holidays each day of the year! It may be worth checking them out and seeing which ones would bring a smile to your face! I think of all the traditions that are associated with sugar and especially with candy really make you remember your childhood. Knowing some guardians would not allow candy, you most likely remember reminiscing about having a lollipop once you grew up! Maybe February 1st is candy making day to help us get ready for the next big candy holiday, Valentine’s Day. Whatever the reason, I think it is a great excuse to make something delicious and share it with someone who could use a smile.