A Hard Candy Christmas: Advent 2023 DAY 1

This year I am looking at 25 candies that symbolize the holidays to me. Up first is the candy that inspired this year's Advent: Hard Candy!

Sometimes called pillow candy (the name I grew up with) or hard tack, this stuff is affordable to buy, not very expensive to make, hard as a rock, and god-awful. A cross between horehound and licorice with hints of Scope mouthwash, I always fall for its shimmering mix of colors. And yet, every time I eat a piece or two, I feel like I just took a dose of medicine afterwards. Or had a routine cleaning at the dentist.

Not to be confused with Ribbon Candy, Hard Candy does come in a variety of colors and air is added to the liquid sugar as it hardens to add that sheen. However Ribbon Candy comes in a variety of more fruity flavors like cherry or orange as well as peppermint. Plus, Ribbon looks like a piece of flowy ribbon found on a Christmas gift, whereas each tiny piece of Hard Candy kinda puffs in the middle like a pillow.

When it comes to Hard Candy, there's a couple of rules:

1. Any grandparent older than the age of 65 must carry a dish of the stuff on a coffee table in their living room at all times from November 1st until just after the new year.

AND

2. Once the candy is poured out into a candy dish, the entire mass must form together into a single solid mass. Thus ensuring that whatever remains after the holidays is saved over for the next year as nobody eats this stuff anymore. 

As my Advent gift for you, I present to you not a piece of this toxic confection, but instead the other inspiration for this year's Advent: a 1982 rendition of Hard Candy Christmas. From the musical The Best Little Whore House in Texas, Dolly Parton made this song a holiday staple, even though this isn't really a Christmas song! It was even featured on one of her later Christmas albums and since then has been covered by nearly 2 dozen country artists on their holiday albums since. 

Enjoy!