With This Ring...

The year 1886 should be revered in perpetuity by all womankind. This is the year Tiffany debuted the 6 prong diamond solitaire engagement ring--the anxiously anticipated Christmas gift by many a hope-filled fluttering female heart ever since. But until the discovery of enormous diamond deposits in Africa in 1870, these stones were far too rare and expensive to be considered a likely acquisition by most. It didn't take long, however, for this increase in supply to bring the price within the reach of most Americans.

Sadly, what's good for the goose is not, in fact, always good for the gander. A clever and subtle scheme was cooked up in the late 1940's to help offset the sagging bottom line of diamond suppliers due to this and other huge diamond deposit discoveries. The largest diamond supplier in the world, De Beers, instructed jewelry retailers to "educate" gentlemen that any proper diamond selection for his fair lady should cost the equivalent of 2 to 3 month's salary. Man's goose has been cooked ever since.

As much as we here at CARSON wrappedhersheys.com might wish folks would spend 2 month's salary on chocolate bars, we're far more realistic in our ambitions. We have managed, with the help of the creative geniuses we proudly call our graphic artists, to design dozens of stunning wrappers for all stages on the marriage process. There's no end to the fun an imaginative person can have dreaming up creative ways to incorporate wrapped Hersheys with, say, an engagement announcement. Picture this one: dozens of the "Dots of Promise" wrapped Hershey's in your favorite color scheme, arranged in an overlapping circular fashion on a slowly turning pedestal. Centered therein sits the tiny open ring box, the glorious diamond ring pinched between black velvet fingertips. A single light shines from above, throwing shards of blazingly brilliant gleams off the stone like a disco ball a' la 1973; while piped in from an invisible source an operatic rendering of the Hallelujah Chorus is raised in wondrous homage to this eternal symbol of love. You have to admit, this would indeed be original. From engagement announcements all the way to the wedding day itself, the only limit--obviously--is your imagination. 

'Tis Better to Give...

I know I’m not alone in this; this constant wondering how common practices come into being. Irrelevant for the most part, I admit. But that doesn’t turn off the perpetual dripping faucet of ponderings over the most trivial matters. How come only women carry purses? When did we determine that forks go on the left side of a place setting? Who decided that an up-and-down nod means yes and a side-to-side turning means no? Why do we give each other presents?

It is the last question I’ll attempt to address today. I shall begin this with an observation that humans aren’t the only gift givers. Anybody who has ever owned a cat knows the incomparable joy of receiving a headless wee mousy dropped at their feet by a loving feline friend. Make no mistake; that’s a gift of pure friendship. Courting males of many species often give gifts to their intendeds as a display of their hunting prowess or ability to provide. But let’s focus on the exclusively human practices for this article.

Did you know that it was once considered a sin to give birthday presents? It’s true. It began as an ancient Roman tradition predating Christianity and as such was deemed a pagan practice by the fundamentalists of the day. Obviously, this condemnation didn’t stick. 

The origins of Christmas gift giving, while commonly believed to be an imitation of the three wise men bestowing gifts upon the newborn King, is actually a little less absolute than that. Once again, those wacky Romans figure in the equation. The holiday of Saturnalia commemorating the god Saturn and also corresponding with the winter solstice, was held at around the same time of year. Gift giving was rampant, particularly to emperors and other nobility as acts of tribute. The practice then extended to friends and family and before long, everyone was in on the fun. Gift giving at this time of year is in full force to this very day. 

 Figuring out what gift to give is often the biggest problem, and we at CARSON wrappedhersheys.com are here to help.  We offer a wide selection of holiday greetings and gifts to fit any budget. Take a look on our website. We’re sure you’ll find the ideal gift for your boss, your maiden aunt or even your lawn boy. After all, who doesn’t love chocolate?

What in the Samhain is Halloween?

America's second favorite holiday is one of the oldest observances--in one form or another--known to western civilization. In place since at least the 5th century BC, the origins of Halloween are nebulous and often prone to misinterpretation. This report is just one of several possible explanations of this popular American holiday.

Originally, Halloween was a Celtic Druids celebration called Samhain (pronounced sow-in), and many sources believe it marked the new year of the Druidic calendar. The dividing point between the light (summer) or old year, and the dark (winter) or new year fell on October 31st. As it represented the "death" of the passing year, this was also when they honored their departed loved ones. It was during this time these ancient people believed that the veil between the earthly world and the spirit realm was thinnest, that spirits could cross over into this world and walk among us, and divination and prophecy was easiest. Much revelry ensued during the three day Samhain celebration; societal roles were cast aside, people dressed up in imaginative ways and harmless pranks were played such as moving cows around into the wrong fields. (This was before the art of T.P.-ing a house was invented.)

When Christianity began to filter into the region, the Celts were loathe to dispense with this important celebration. So, the early church did the next best thing by attempting to alter its meaning. Traditionally held in the spring, the Christian holiday of All Saints Day was moved to November 1st, and the populace was urged to honor the saints instead of their own dead and deities. Samhain changed names to All Hallowed (Saints) Eve, then shortened to the familiar Halloween. The thinking obviously was that it was the timing of the celebration that was important, not the meaning; and in many other cases this did in fact eventually prove true.  Yet, the upshot is that honoring saints wasn't nearly as entertaining as three days of ruckus good times. Piety only went so far compared to the thrill of dress up, pranks, partying and divination, at least in the eyes of some. 

I don't think I'd be going out on a limb in saying there would be little recognizable by either side of the isle in today's watered down version of Halloween. Some might consider that a good thing, others might not; but the simple truth is that it's the only Halloween we know. We still love it; and frankly it is this author's opinion that any holiday is enormously enhanced by the addition of candy and especially chocolate. And rather than awaking on All Saints Day to find my cows far afield in unknown pastures, I'll happily pass out candy to roving bands of costumed urchins; alternating, of course, between pieces of candy for each kid and myself. CARSON wrappedhersheys.com makes this tradition even more fun by providing a wide choice of Halloween wrapper designs and gift items for Halloween parties, greetings and classroom treats. Start your own Halloween tradition this year with favors personalized for you and your family. 

Flag-Wavers-R-Us

In spite of our many differences, Americans overall are pretty patriotic. In fact, based upon the results of one part of the World Values Survey, patriotism level among Americans is among the top 3 ranking countries in the world. You can see this patriotism evident in our holidays throughout the year. 

Memorial Day, originally May 30th, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. It was originally designed to honor fallen soldiers of the Civil War; therefore the southern states didn't get on board with the holiday until after WWI when it became dedicated to the fallen in all wars. 

Flag Day is a more obscure holiday. Most folks carry with them a vague recollection of toting little stiff flags home from school every year, but beyond that, more pertinent details remain dim.  Begun in 1885 by a school teacher in Fredonia, Wisconsin, Flag Day marks the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777. Truman signed an act of Congress in 1949 designating June 14th as the official day of recognition. 

Veterans Day is sometimes confused in function with Memorial Day. But the crucial difference here is that Veterans Day honors all those, living or dead, who have honorable service in the finest military on earth. Celebrated on November 11th, it was originally call Armistice Day until the end of WWI. 

The most important and undoubtedly the loudest of our national holidays is Independence Day, commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1777.  It took those signers a great deal of courage, costing some of them their fortunes and even their lives. We pay homage to those heroes who started it all with tumultuous revelry and colorful fireworks.

CARSON wrappedhersheys.com offers a variety of fine patriotic favors sporting the proud colors of "Old Glory" in grand fashion. But we don't stop at national holidays! We offer red, white and blue birth announcements, graduation favors and more, giving Americans ample opportunity for flag waving in uniquely chocolate ways!

Mysterious Origins

Weddings can be elaborate, expensive affairs; and some are so intricate they require the assistance of a hired planner to successfully orchestrate. But this has not always been the case. Let’s take a little journey back in time and peek in on a few earlier versions of nuptial practices and how some elements have evolved into modern traditions.

In early days, marriages had nothing at all to do with love. Rather, they were unions of necessity more than anything else. The largest tribe tended to be the most successful, so any measures that could be taken to increase the tribe were considered not only proper, but expected of any man worth his share of mammoth meat. In these situations the bride was often captured from a neighboring tribe and carried off. Being a decidedly risky operation, the groom needed the assistance of his friends to help battle off her enraged relatives. These same friends stood at his side during the marriage ritual, weapons at the ready to fend off any last minute rescue attempts. Hence, the tradition of the best man and ushers was born. This scenario also explains the practice of carrying the bride over the threshold, as proceedings thus far hardly sound agreeable. I don’t think we’d be going out on a limb by supposing the bridal coiffure to be in a state of marked disarray by the end of her wedding day.

After all of this tumult, the groom would usually disappear with his new bride for a while giving tempers time to cool and the situation to be accepted and more-or-less gotten over. This early “honeymoon” certainly looks quite a bit different than today’s trip to Niagara Falls.

Over time, barbarity gave way to civilization (to a certain extent) and marriage came to be viewed in terms of money, and political or social gain. Enter the arranged marriage. As women were pretty much considered property of the male head of the household, here is where the father giving away the bride comes into play.

In those days, it was BYOC (bring your own cake) or biscuit, really. These were typically heaped in a pile until the time was ripe for them to be grabbed by the celebrants, bitten into and the remainder hurled higgledy-piggledy at the happy fleeing couple. All the tasty morsels that fell to the ground were hurriedly scrambled after by young maids and rapidly devoured as this was seen as a measure of luck toward making a happy union for themselves. This eyebrow raising exercise thankfully evolved into the more flattering tradition of throwing the bridal bouquet. Another surprising result of this practice was the invention of the wedding cake. In the 1660’s a fastidious but unnamed French chef was appalled by the unsightly biscuit pile at a wedding and created the first multi-tiered wedding cake, single handedly installing one of the most well recognized icons of the modern wedding.

As mysterious and seemingly lost to time as the root cause of the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys, traditional beginnings can come from unexpected sources. We here at CARSON wrappedhersheys.com have our foot firmly wedged in the door of new traditions by offering a wide array of personalized chocolate favors for all your wedding needs. While a comparatively new player on the scene, who can say how our contribution today will morph into tomorrow’s accepted yet inexplicable tradition? Only time will tell… 

Ceremonial Similitude

Rituals.  The word conjures shadowy images steeped in the obscure mystery of ages past. On a dark, moonless night, cloaked, hooded figures in solemn procession glide toward a high stone alter. Flickering torchlight illuminates the path flanked with onlookers swaying in droning chant.  Standing atop the dais, an imposing figure, his billowing robes grand and elaborate, outstretches his arms to the night, prepared to anoint the accomplished brethren.  Eerie, isn’t it?

The word ritual comes from the Latin ritualis “relating to rites,” from ritus “rite,” and has been in practice since the dawn of humanity.  Remarkably similar in characteristic across the broad expanse of history and cultures, rituals are societies’ ways to mediate significant transitions in people’s lives—transitions that could bring about changes in social standing, life situations and even life itself.  We call them ceremonies, but that’s simply another word for rituals. 

When you really think about, some of our modern ceremonies differ little from the scene described above.  Case in point: graduation.  A podium replaces the altar, electric lights replace torches, the cap replaces the hood, and “Pomp and Circumstance” replaces chanting.  But in the end what you have is a procession of cloaked figures filing forth one by one to a raised dais, whereupon another more prominent cloaked figure stands ready to bestow honors.  Aside from a few paltry details, not much has changed. 

But there is one thing that has changed over time.  There is a new item gaining favor among ritual goers, something unheard of in the days of our predecessors: custom wrapped Hershey’s bars as party favors.  Just like so many rituals throughout history have undoubtedly been followed by uproarious making of merry, today’s graduation parties can compare with the best.  At CARSON wrappedhersheys.com, we want to be a part of all modern rituals, and there’s no better way to get invited than to bring something unique—and chocolate—to the party! 

The Evolutionary Wrapper

You know you’ve arrived when people start viewing your company history and products as “memorabilia.” You’ve seen it a hundred times. Somebody has a game room in their house full of vintage advertisements from companies like Coca Cola, Harley Davidson and Campbell’s Soup. Hershey’s ranks high on the collect-ability scale as well. In fact, The Hershey Company regularly releases collections of reproduction vintage advertisements for current promotions. People love nostalgia. We know, because we’ve got our own Hershey Museum in the works here at CARSON wrappedhersheys.com.

 

Take the Hershey’s bar wrapper. In the last 100 years, it has had 16 versions, and in studying them you see the history not only of the product, but of societal norms of advertising, and legal changes in food processing and packaging. (To view all 16 versions, visit the Hershey Community Archives.) On the back of the 1900-1902 version, it states, “…is especially recommended for Cyclists, Athletes, Ladies and Children. It is most sustaining, being amalgamated by special process with the finest Fresh Milk.” Face it; people just don’t talk like that anymore (much to this writer’s personal disgruntlement). Nor is candy any longer recommended, seemingly like a medication, to specific groups of people; however, we must commend Hershey’s early identification of a very clear and binding link between women and chocolate. The wrapper then goes into a brief discussion of how well Hershey cares for their cows. As incongruous as this mention seems to us today due to vast improvements in health laws, obviously this topic was of sufficient concern to the public in 1900 that Hershey’s felt the need to address it on the product wrappers.

The last year the Baby in the Cocoa Bean was seen on the front of the bars was 1911; thereafter it was relegated to an image on the back, replaced with the block letter HERSHEY’S still in use today. It is upon this universally recognized logo, created almost a century ago, that CARSON built its business with the infinitely popular HERESHEIS® wrapper design.

 

The next substantial Hershey’s wrapper revision took place in 1973, when new packaging laws required today’s familiar nutritional label on most packaging. The last major change took place in 2003, when Hershey moved away from the long-used foil and paper wrapper to the new crimped fin-seal style in use today.

New Year Sparks New Creations

Creativity, innovation, imagination—these are qualities that by their very nature, never run out. The desire to express them is second only to the sheer need to do so. When inspiration sparks flights of fancy, the results, while often unpredictable (and sometimes bewildering) are always delightful.

The New Year brings with it thoughts of newness in many venues.  Resolutions are solemnly avowed, wardrobes reassessed, and new ideas rise to the surface.  In the business world, focus turns to new products. 

In a creative business like ours, ideas are as prolific as rabbits, with successive ideas giving birth to the next, new and improved generation.  Take the valentine, for example.  The most abundant givers of these sweet notes of endearment are children. For the most part unchanged over the years, valentines consist of simple pull-apart cards that are crammed into hand made, decorated shoe boxes.  We’ll go one better.

How about a valentine wrapped around chocolate?  It’s a greeting and a gift, all wrapped up into one delightful package.  Classmates will certainly remember who gave that valentine!

With the New Year we have launched a new assortment of valentine designs, all original, all exclusively our own. But they’re not all geared toward children.  Adults can get in on this action as well, and welcome!

Remember fun?  Why not take a step back in time and surprise your coworkers with chocolate valentines that reflect your personal style? Go a little wild this year! Irresistibly playful, our designs are sure to kick off a bit of spontaneous gaiety at work. Kids shouldn’t hog all the fun.

Our artists have outdone themselves this time.  When the word came to make new valentines, they didn’t--they couldn’t--hold back.  Take a look on our website; we think you’ll be impressed.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Let’s talk for just a few moments about the American version of Santa Claus:  bringer of toys, rider of sleighs; that whiskered, red clad, twinkle eyed, pot bellied, reindeer calling, ho-ho-ho-ing mascot of Christmas.   Just who is he and where did he come from anyway? 

Research reveals he is a culmination of centuries of legends, starting with a 4th century Turkish Monk renowned for overt generosity and kindness toward children to whom he would clandestinely toss gifts in through windows.  He became known as St. Nicholas.  The anniversary day of his death was celebrated as his feast day on December 6th. 

The protestant reformation of the 16th century banned all feasting and veneration of Catholic saints.  (There’s always a party pooper...)  But the feast of St. Nicholas was so beloved the populace was reluctant to give it up, so it became combined with the nearby holiday of Christmas.  (…and there’s always a way around them.) 

A German legend becomes blended with this tradition in the form of the Christ child, or Christkindl, who left gifts in homes into which he gained entry via keyholes.  This German word corrupted over the years into today’s familiar Kris Kringle. 

The man in red is getting closer now.  We’ve got name recognition, anonymous gifting, windows and keyholes so far. 

Ever so appropriately, one Christmas day in the latter part of the 17th century Dutch immigrants landed in America, bringing with them the legend of Sinter Klaas.  This version of St. Nicholas was alleged to have ridden around town every Christmas eve distributing gifts.  But it wasn’t all whistles and baby dolls.  He rode in company with a figure called Black Peter who would inflict whippings on naughty children.  This line from a popular song, “So be good for goodness sake,” takes on a bit more threatening tone in the light of this information, doesn’t it? 

Roughly a century later, this Sinter Klaas character first appeared in media as St. A. Claus.  The ominous personage of Black Peter faded from view,  to the relief of children far and wide. 

In 1822, the precursor to our modern image of the American Santa Claus emerged from the words of poem written by Clement Clarke Moore, “The Night before Christmas.”  He was portrayed as a shape shifting elf that could change size by simply laying a finger on the side of his nose.  This is how we learned what a vital role the chimney actually played in Santa’s nocturnal shenanigans.

But it hasn’t even been a century since the true modern version of the American Santa Claus was born.  The image of Santa as a human sized, portly man with a white beard and kind, twinkling eyes was honed by artist Haddon Sundblom in the employ of Coca-Cola.  Beginning in 1931 he created a series of billboards and other advertisements that have perfected the image of our modern day Santa Claus. 

Although we have come to what might be called the nationally recognized image of Santa Claus, there is ample room for interpretation.  Here at Carson Wrapped Hershey's our artists have exercised their full creativity to produce a variety of wrappers that feature this illustrious icon of indulgence that some of us--many decades into life--still believe in. 

Thanksgiving… a Little Food for Thought

History is a fascinating topic.  While it’s easy to understand the source of a given tradition, the depth of the original meaning behind it can sometimes be clouded by the passage of time and the changes of lifestyle.  Even so, Americans today cherish this important holiday and sometimes try to celebrate it in new and creative ways. 

In 1621, a small group of newcomers to the northeastern coast gathered together with some local residents in celebration of friendship and thanks.  We have little concept today, in the day of modern mega stores and a more or less united society, of the tenuous position of the lives of our forebears from one season to the next.  Most of us have never suffered the indignity of playing tug-o-war with a rat over the last scrap of moldy bread, or the marked astonishment of receiving butterfly kisses from the fletching of an arrow whizzing past our cheek.  Therefore, the giving of thanks for a good harvest and brotherhood between neighbors would carry a depth of feeling for these hardy souls many of us can scarcely imagine.

Through several starts and stops over the centuries, the tradition has survived and is going strong today, if perhaps with (gratefully) lighter hearts.  Carson helps celebrate that with a variety of delightful Thanksgiving wrapper designs people use as personalized party favors or greetings.  My mother purchased our “Autumn Squares” bars and brought them to a church retreat.  She made some darling cloth pumpkin centerpieces for the tables and arranged the bars in circles around them, one for each guest at each table.  She excitedly reported that they were a huge hit and everyone raved over how wonderful and clever they found them to be.

Candy bars around tables in a comfortable building with well-feasted merry makers is far removed from the original Thanksgiving dinner.  However, our ancestors made the journey and suffered the hardships in the hope that someday their descendants would live in a land of freedom and plenty.  To say they were successful is putting it mildly, and we have not forgotten that.  We honor you, brave pilgrims; and we’ve got the candy bars to prove it!