Trick or Treat: Soul Cakes, Candy Corn, and Sugar Skulls Galore!

If you live in the U.S., chances are, your first hint of fall isn’t
a russet-colored leaf landing on the sidewalk—it’s the
orange-wrappered candies taking over the aisles of your local
grocery and convenience stores. Forget decorative gourds: it’s
officially Halloween candy season! But how did a 2,000-year-old
Celtic festival marking the sun's death and the beginning of winter
morph into a family-friendly sugar-fest? With the help of Heather
Cox Richardson and Joanne Freeman, historians and hosts of the Vox
Media Podcast Network show Now & Then, we explore the
surprisingly recent introduction of trick-or-treating, and the
all-American invention of Halloween as the ultimate
candy-permissive, religion-free Frankenholiday. Plus, why do so
many cultures around the world celebrate deathy things at this time
of year—and why do so many of them involve sugar? All this, plus a
rigorous candy corn tasting bravely undertaken by your
indefatigable hosts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
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