Source: CandyStore.com.

Sour Patch Kids? Really?

Call me a traditionalist, but the Land of Lincoln’s most popular Halloween candy has changed in 2017, and the result is a somewhat-surprising first choice.

Sour Patch Kids is No. 1 in our hearts and probably should be No. 1 in your candy jar this holiday season. The No. 2 most-popular Halloween candy in Illinois this year is the Kit Kat bar, followed by Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

All of this information is courtesy of The Candy Store, which annually ranks the top three most-popular Halloween candy selections in every state in the union. If you’re interested in what’s popular in other states, you can visit the website or click on the interactive map embedded above.

Personally, I think I’m heading to Oklahoma.

For the record, and before we get too many Facebook comments, I like a good Sour Patch Kids as much as the next guy. And while our daughters are past the trick-or-treating age, they have said on more than one occasion that Sour Patch Kids are tasty and quite popular with today’s youngsters. So, more power to the sour.

That said, it’s hard for me to comprehend how a candy bar isn’t in the top spot every year.

(WARNING: There’s a “back in my day” coming up.)

When I was a kid, the candy bars were as big as a beefy man’s forearm and had to be carried by oxen. They were heavier than gold. Each peanut (within the bars that had peanuts), was the size of an acorn, the caramel so thick it could rip your teeth out.

Hershey’s Chocolate Bars, Nestle’s Crunch, Butterfingers, Clark Bars, Powerhouse Bars, Three Musketeers, Snickers, Milky Ways, Baby Ruths, Mars Bars, Almond Joys, Reece’s (two or three in a pack) — the list goes on.

Sure, we had our share of renegades and novelty items — Twizzlers, packs of gum, Necco wafers, flip sticks, candy jewelry, Atomic Fireballs, Junior Mints, the occasional wax lips. Some trick-or-treaters might have coveted those items, but they weren’t all that frequently dished out and would never have risen to become the “No. 1 most popular,” if such things were measured in those days.

But I digress.

To recap:

Most Popular Halloween Candy in Illinois 2017

The Candy Store: “Big changes for the Illini this year! Illinois’s most popular Halloween candy has changed. In fact, all three top candies changed. No. 1 and No. 2 from last year switched spots and the No. 3 Halloween candy is all new in the top three. Sour Patch Kids are the new champion, with Kit Kat falling behind to No. 2 and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups moving into a strong No. 3 position.”

1. Sour Patch Kids
2. Kit Kat
3. Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup

Congratulations to you, Sour Patch Kids, for being the most popular Halloween candy of the year.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to try to find cosmic comfort somewhere in a miniscule Milky Way.