One of my very earliest memories of Christmas is about candy. I must have been about three years old. There's a vague sense that I was on my dad's knee and we were sitting at the kitchen table looking through the Eaton's Christmas catalog. We'd reached the Christmas candy section, as delightful a spot for a child as the toy section.
That's
when I saw it. A child's dream come true. A large tin pail on its side
with mounds of hard rock candy spilling forth out into the page. More
candy than I could eat in day. Wonderful! I knew beyond any shadow of a
doubt that I must have it. And it must be right now. I had such a
belly deep longing for that pail of candy. I cried, I wailed, for how can one make a child
understand it was just a picture; it was not possible to have it right now.
I
don't have any remembrance of how I dealt with my utter disappointment
-- perhaps that's when my longing for the magical qualities of fairy
tale land took root. Or why some years hence I loved that Candy Land
game we found under the Christmas tree one year.
 |
| Source |
While we're on the delicious topic of Christmas candies and treats, what would you choose as the official Christmas candy?
Peppermint candy canes? Old-fashioned ribbon candy -- the kind that makes your tongue hurt if you suck it too much? Rock candy with its myriad shapes and flavors?
What about the big boxes of assorted chocolates nestled in crinkly brown paper cups? Often those boxes would be brought by my grandma or aunty ... and after the big meal would be carefully passed around the room, each person given a chance to examine the little 'map' to select the right center.
I
loved the caramels or nut clusters. I never minded the fudge-y softer centres
either. But both my little sister and I were in total agreement when it came to
the despicable orange cremes -- blech, blech. And, as for those cough-syrup pink ones that pretended to be strawberry -- that was shudder, shudder, shudder.
Except for those, I loved them all.
Yet when it comes to deciding on an official Christmas candy, I'd have to choose the peppermint striped candy canes. As much as I adore the other sweet treats, a person just doesn't think of candy canes any other time of year except at this Christmas season.
Ah, such sweet memories. I feel quite like the kid again.
Now, would you be so kind as to share some of your own?
Sweet hugs,
Brenda and Snowflake
xox
I remember dreaming about all the wonderful things in the Eaton's and Simpson's catalogues. We had a hard candy mix that came in tins and a box of Laura Secord chocolates for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteChocolates with nuts inside, not fillings. Those would be my choice.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you and your sister about the blech, blech of orange creams and the other cream fillings. Yech. I liked (and still do) the ones with caramel or nuts in them. My mother always purchased an assortment of candy at Christmas - soft fruit jellies coated with sugar, hard striped candies, and nuts, always nuts, in the shell. Set out on the coffee table with nutcrackers and a bowl for the empty shells the nuts were a highlight.
ReplyDeleteOur special treat at Christmas when I was young was to get an assortment of walnuts, hazelnuts, and other nuts in their shells. Then the big excitement was getting to use the nutcracker to open them.
ReplyDeleteOur family enjoyed the lovely Christmas tradition of baking and decorating gingerbread houses. I just loved choosing colorful candies to decorate my little gingerbread house! Even today, I buy candy canes to decorate ~ our Christmas tree, the Christmas table, and even a tea party. Brenda, I loved playing Candy Land, too! Such sweet memories!
ReplyDeleteI always associate those cheap chocolate covered cherries with Christmas. My grandfather always provided plenty of these. I actually still like them!
ReplyDeleteChocolate, any kind. And the pretty ribbon candy. I don't remember ever eating it, but I thought it was beautiful!
ReplyDelete