Happy National Jelly Bean Day!
April 22nd is National Jelly Bean Day!
Why Celebrate?
Two days after Easter is the perfect time to celebrate Jelly Bean Day because let’s be honest, we’ve all hit up those after Easter sales. Who can say no to 50% off Easter candy!? Clearly, candy on clearance is a no-brainer. When I think of jelly beans, I think of childhood Easter egg hunts and shaking the eggs to see if I lucked out and picked up an egg filled with jelly beans (my favorite). These candies have been around for a while, and they’ve stood the test of time. Jelly beans date back to the 1860s, maybe even farther. There are advertisements that promoted sending jelly beans to troops fighting in the Civil War! Pretty crazy.
When it comes to jelly beans, there are two different types of people. There are the indiscriminate, grab-a-handful-and-enjoy kind, and there are the pick-and-choosers. I am a pick-and-chooser, because in my opinion, life is too short to nom on a jelly bean that isn’t your favorite flavor. Yes, this can be really really annoying to anyone else that may be enjoying jelly beans from the same candy dish, because you can bet that I’ve already gone through and picked out all of my favorites. Sorry I’m not sorry!
Here’s a look at three of my favorite varieties of jelly bean. Pick your poison. And by poison, I mean awesomeness.
- Jelly Bird Eggs – To me, these are the “original” jelly beans. They are a little bigger in size and have the classic flavors of cherry, grape, orange, lemon, lime, raspberry, pineapple, and licorice. And though most people tend to despise the licorice beans, those are my favorite, and I nearly died of happiness when I found that they actually make bags of all black jelly beans.
- Jelly Belly – When searching for unique flavors, these gourmet jelly beans are the way to go. Buttered Popcorn, Crushed Pineapple, Very Cherry, Tutti-Fruitti, Toasted Marshmellow… are just a few of the 50 Jelly Belly Official Flavors. There are other varieties available, like the 5-Flavor Sours, Tropical, and BeanBoozled (gross flavors mixed in with good ones… a horrible trick, if you ask me).
- Starburst Jelly Beans – Because who wouldn’t want to combine two already awesome candies together? The fusion of Starburst flavor into a jelly bean was sheer creative genius. There are the Original flavors (cherry, grape, green apple, lemon, orange, strawberry), Sours (sour blue raspberry, sour cherry, sour green apple, sour lemon, sour tangerine, sour watermelon), as well as Crazy Beans and Tropical flavors.
How to Celebrate
Raid the candy clearance aisle and enjoy a bag or three of your favorite jelly beans. Or if you are feeling generous, buy some cute little jars and fill them with jelly beans, and then give them to friends or coworkers. It’s a cute, easy, and cheap gift that is sure to spread Jelly Bean Day cheer.
Quote of the Day
“You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans.” – Ronald Reagan
Featured image via ShutterStock
