Treated like the holy grail of life, many Americans today hope to find meaning in the activities they do and the people they meet. Thankfully, there has been an annual answer for every person to at least experience a sense of warmth and love as humans. Behold two holidays like no other, Christmas and Halloween.
Such characteristic traditions make their presence known in communities across the United States only a few nights a year. Furthermore, adults and children alike take these days and weeks of homecoming and thrill-seeking to have fun and enjoy the meaning of life once more. But, we can not forget the secret agents at work during these hours of holiday cheer and fright. Making an even greater appearance, candy is almost essential to completing any Christmas party or Halloween adventure. Found in the bowls of happy neighbors, ransacked from buckets left unattended, decorating pleasant holiday homes, candy can be found in every nook and cranny during the weeks of Christmas and Halloween. Life would never be the same without its sugary presence. What even is the meaning of Christmas and Halloween without candy to sweeten our teeth?
Soon, such a disastrous nightmare will become a reality. This year (2022), Hershey has let the press know that it will not be able to meet the Christmas and Halloween demand for candy. Sure, it may be an exaggeration to say that Christmas and Halloween are ruined without enough candy to support them. In fact, there are other companies that can probably make their debut while Hershey takes a seat out on this year’s holiday fest. To the regular American, this predicted shortage is no biggie. To the evil dentists who rely on children rotting their teeth with candy, this shortage can be pretty disappointing. To the parents of children, this shortage is fantastic news! But to the investors of Hershey, this shortage could mean delayed profits.
The destruction that has led to Hershey’s insufficiencies was attributed to global supply chain issues. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused severe supply-chain issues for the company. Consequently, in order to maintain the stock for everyday items in stores right now, Hershey has not been able to focus its remaining sources on covering the demands of holiday candy. Essentially, the hub for Hershey’s candy-making equipment can be traced back to Europe, where a lot of political turmoil has been taking place for the past 8 months. As a result, Hershey's will not be able to cover the demands of candy for the upcoming Christmas and Halloween holidays.
It truly is a tragedy that our yearly frights and festivities will not be the same without the iconic candy brands that Hershey has produced for so many years. But, candy is not everything and holidays do not have to be seen as money-making time stamps. Sometimes it is more important to see the value of the memories and connections we make instead. Halloween might not be as big of a candy haul as previous years have been, but the excitement of braving the scary streets with hilarious costumes will stay with us as we grow older. Christmas may be missing a chocolate cookie or too for Santa, but maybe Santa was looking to build some more muscle mass this year.
