I don’t know why we did it when we were kids, but we did.
A little backstory here. We went to Mass every day but Saturday. At grade school, that’s just how the day got rolling. Then, of course, we went again, with the entire family on Sunday mornings.
That was life. We were Catholic. Duty and all. Hell avoidance. Faithful patrons.
But sometimes, when we would play, we kids would pretend we were saying Mass. Priest, altar boys, the whole nine yards. We had a little cowbell we would ring for the altar bells. We’d light candles if we could get away with it. But the ever-most-important ingredient was Communion. The mock consecration of the host and wine.
And the ultimate stand-ins were?
Cherry Kool-Aid and Necco Wafers
The Necco Wafers were really key. And if someone could score a roll of Necco’s, well heck. Sometimes, we’d just say Mass because we had the goods. It made our “interpretation” incredibly authentic. Of course, I was the youngest and never got to be the priest. No. I’d have to be some old nun in the front row of “church” with a dishtowel over my head instead of a veil. But I’d go up, hands pressed together in mimicked-prayer, stick out my tongue, and hope for a good flavored Necco.
Most people hoped for the chocolate ones. I liked lemon. Getting wintergreen or licorice would make Protestants out of any of us. Although, none of the flavors were incredibly delicious. They were a bit chalky, like TUMS.
At any rate, imagine my sadness, my woe, when about two years ago, the New England Confectionery Company shut its doors for good in 2018. The end of the Necco Wafer. For me, an icon had died. Kind of like a Tennesseean hearing Elvis had gone to Golden Graceland in the sky.
Well now, a recent press release says there is hope. It seems as though an Ohio Company has purchased the Necco brand, along with the Sweethearts Conversation Hearts. It’s the Ohio-based Spangler Candy Company. They say they haven’t changed a thing, besides making the chocolate flavor a little richer. And the waxy rolls will hit the shelves beginning in May.
Not that I eat sweets anymore. But I’m glad to have them back in the world, so young Catholic kids can get back to playing mock Mass again. A little bright spot in all these times of trouble.
I’m also not so obtuse as to think kids would ever play Mass these days. If it doesn’t involve an iPhone or an app, they are probably not having any of it.
But. At least those Neccos will be there on store shelves all across the nation, collecting dust, while the other boxes of candy, all around them, go empty. A happy tradition. And, there’s a lot to be said for a wafer.
It is true, in life, that each moment is important. Even those Necco Wafer moments, which aren’t quite as prestigious as, say, a Lifesaver moment. But where ever you are standing right now, I wholly hope your moment is good. Maybe Snickers good.
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“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”
– Soren Kierkegaard
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“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”
— Helen Keller
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“Every moment is a fresh beginning.”
—T.S. Eliot
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