There. I’ve said it. Candy Corn. It is that time of year again. The weather is turner cooler; the air is crisp at night. The leaves are beginning to blush. October is that magic month of the year, where ghouls begin to wander the streets in greater numbers than usual. And as always, the world begins to harvest its Candy Corn. I wonder if anyone else, besides me, is on the fence about Candy Corn? I think it is a lot like Peeps. You either love them or you hate them.
With me, however, I can take Candy Corn, or leave it. Although, I haven’t eaten any in 40 years or so. But when I was a kid, and we would spill out our Halloween pillowcases on the floor, revealing the haul of our collected candy, I would try to pawn off the Candy Corn for other, more lucrative choices. It would never, ever, swap for something like a Snickers or Reese Cups. Or even M&Ms. No such luck. But every now and again, I’d talk my way into a trade for a Baby Ruth or a Butterfinger.
Yes, the seasons are changing guard once again. The Fall Solstice was upon us on September 22. I forgot to say goodbye to Summer on that day, an oversight on my part. Summer used to be my favorite season of the year, but as I get older, I have found that I have three favorite seasons. Spring, Summer, and Fall. Winter, while it has some moments, still places a distant, well-digger’s butt, fourth.
But here we are in October. The times are changing.
Humans, you know, have been trying to measure time for quite some time now. These days, most of us use the Gregorian calendar. It is the most widely accepted calendar in the world, and it has been around for centuries. It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582.
And we know how it works. The calendar spaces those leap years to make its average year 365.2425 days long — which is pretty close to approximating the Earth’s revolution around the Sun. We get that extra day, every four years, then.
But. Before that, the world used the Roman calendar. It only had ten months in all. And October was the eighth month on that calendar, hence the “Octo” name. That’s Latin, for eight. October is a full month, as I like the call them. It has all 31 days. There are seven full months in the year, by the way. January, March, May, July, August, October, December. The rest got shorted a day. Well, except for February. It drew the short straw.
For those who follow the Zodiac, those born in October can be born under one of two very different star signs. If you’re born before the 23rd of October, then you have the sign of Libra. Those born on the 23rd of October or later have the sign of Scorpio. My Mom was a Scorpio. And her Mom too. But both signs, that whole month of October, has just one birthstone. The Opal.
And of course — more importantly than anything — it is the month of the year when we start handling all that Candy Corn. And there is a lot of it. Every year, more than 35 million pounds of Candy Corn are sold each year. If you are counting, that’s roughly 9 billion kernels. At least it is fat-free. I have to tell you, though. Candy Corn is made with gelatin. And we know what that means. Gelatin is a protein made from animals, so that good old Candy Corn contains traces of animal hides and bones.
Oh, I say, if you love it, have at it. And remember, if you plant one kernel of Candy Corn on Halloween, under the light of the moon, it will grow into a large — enormously large — cornstalk, reaching into the clouds. If you climb the stalk, you will enter the land where the Magic Peep lays the Golden Egg. And that means you’ll have all the riches you need to save the family farm and buy the good candy. Like Snickers.
Oh. I’m a believer.
=========
“Be brave to stand for what you believe in even if you stand alone.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
==========
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
― Roald Dahl
========
“What are you planting today to harvest tomorrow?”
― Lailah Gifty Akita
==========
It may be corny, but it is that time of the eighth month. Again.
