Back in June, in my Top 10 NEW Candy Holidays list, I proposed bringing some additional sweetness to National Candy Month with the introduction of Candy Ramadan – a high holy month for Candy Addicts. Little did I expect that my words would become Gospel (how’s that for further religious bastardization?) for one reader (and self-described “depraved candy slut”), who embarked on a 30-day “religious candy pilgrimage†towards her 30th birthday, making “daily candy offerings†(read: eating candy every day) and humorously detailing it in her blog.
Her amusing posts are basically mini reviews covering candies that span 5 continents (from the regional American Big Cherry to a Japanese candy lacking an English translation) and more than a handful of decades (the classic Cow Tales to the brand spankin’ new Premium M&M’s). Her just-finished month-long journey, marked with delightfully keen descriptions and patented phrases like “violent pink,†“fruit-abetically,†and “like a kid in a porn store,†is a big FU to the dental industry and food pyramid alike and a definite must-read for Candy Addicts. So go check it out, wish her a “Happy Birthday,†make a donation to the Reese’s Piece Corps’ Operation: Af-Candy-Stan (for real!), then click below to read my interview with this disciple.
CANDY ADDICT: When is your birthday? Do you have any extraordinary candy plans for the big day?
SEA HAG: My birthday is August 17, and at oldtimecandy.com they make special boxes of mixed candy for birthdays, so I think I’m going to order the 30th birthday box and eat that.
CA: Has Candy Ramadan made the transition to 30 any “easier to swallow”?
SH: Honestly, 30 is still going to be a big fat bummer, no matter how I sugar-coat it (heh heh). I still feel like there’s so many more stupid things I have to do before I turn 30, and there’s just not enough time to do them all… But I’m so glad I picked a candy-themed adventure because it was so much fun and silly.
CA: What other fun and immature activities have you engaged in during the final 57 days of your 20s?
SH: I got a tattoo, snuck candy into a theater, ran a red light and joined a rock band.
CA: Do you have a favorite place to eat candy?
SH: I enjoyed eating it around other people, which was a surprise because I was never one to share my candy. My candy! Mine mine mine! But it was much more fun when I could share it and get other people’s opinions, or when people would watch me eat something weird, or even when people would ask me what my candy for the day was, because they were honestly interested. Candy is one of those things that people love because it reminds them of childhood… Who doesn’t get happy and a little nostalgic when they talk about the candy they always ate on road trips in The Family Truckster or the awesome candy they got on Halloween? I got into some really good conversations about candy with people I hardly knew. It’s a good ice-breaker.
CA: What was your favorite new candy you tried during Candy Ramadan?
SH: My favorite candy was the bag of Pinot Noir Chocolate Cherries my dad brought me from California. Not only did he demonstrate excellent taste in candy with these, but he bought them because he supports whatever wacky idea I have, even when he doesn’t understand half of the goofy things I do. I love my dad!
CA: What’s your all-time favorite, if-I’m-stuck-on-a-desert-island-I-want-this-with-me candy?
SH: That’s a toss-up between Cow Tales and Twizzlers. Cow Tales taste better but Twizzlers have a higher play-value than Cow Tales. I mean, Twizzlers can double as a straw or possibly be used to tie sticks together to make a shelter… I watch too much Man Vs. Wild.
CA: Foolish though this question may be, was there ever a day where you just didn’t feel like eating candy?
SH: No way! Every day I was excited to try something new. I must admit that in the beginning I didn’t think I would actually last for 30 days. I figured I’d get tired of it, especially blogging about it every day, because although I love to write I am totally lazy. Plus, how much could I find to say about candy every day, other than this is what I ate, it tasted like this? But I discovered that I looked forward to writing every day, and that I never ran out of things to write about. There’s so much more to candy than the taste of it. Plus I kept coming up with new ideas for side projects to do, like the Reese’s Piece Corps’ Operation: Af-Candy-Stan or my candy tree.
CA: Have you made any progress with Reese’s Piece Corps’ Operation: Af-Candy-Stan?
SH: I have! I’m collecting money for it now. I’ve read in several places that the candy tends to melt in the summer, even the non-chocolate items, so I’m going to collect until about September and send it along with some other things that the troop I contact through anysoldier.com needs.
CA: Would you say that Candy Ramadan was a success? Did you learn, glean, or gain anything from your month of spiritual sugar dedication?
SH: It was about a million times more fun than I could have possibly imagined. It was fun to search out new places and try stuff I’d never think of trying. And I feel like there’s so much I didn’t get to try! I still haven’t gone to the Hispanic or Indian grocery stores in my community to go candy shopping, and I didn’t even think to order anything online! It makes me wish I had done Candy Lent instead, so I could have had 40 days instead of 30. It’s funny that in the beginning I worried that I wouldn’t be able to find 30 different candies to try and now I’m realizing that I could try a new candy every day for 30 years and still not have tasted even 1% of it. It’s taught me to be more adventurous, that ‘premium’ candy doesn’t necessarily mean ‘better’ candy, and that red bean candy should be avoided at all costs.
CA: Would you recommend Candy Ramadan to other Addicts? What advice would you give them?
SH: Absolutely! This was a great way to get out of my candy rut and try stuff I’d never dream of eating. My advice would be to avoid the usual places you buy candy and try stuff you might never have thought to pick up before. Even if you don’t like it it’s still fun. And tell people what you’re doing, it’s much more fun to share the Candy Ramadan spirit with everyone.
CA: Is there any chance of Candy Ramadan becoming a permanent holiday for you?
SH: Oh, I’m sure I’ll be doing this again next year. I’m also thinking about doing Candy Advent around Christmas to try a different holiday treat each day.
This is interesting, yet I like candy articles better.
July 25th, 2008 at 11:26 amThanks so much for the article!
July 28th, 2008 at 12:26 amsea hag, your 30 days of candy ramadan have allowed me to experience (vicariously) a whole world of confection that i didn’t know existed. thank you so much for sharing your reliably amusing insights, and especially for illuminating me with the sublime brilliance that is the ode-to-candy haiku in 5/7/5 morae..
July 29th, 2008 at 11:52 pm