Not So Sweet

Sales figures just out indicate that sales of Easter candy and paraphernalia for 2009 are below last year's sales figures, and last year's sales figures were actually pretty low. Last year's sales were thought to be off due to the fact that Easter fell on March 23, the second earliest date it can fall on, and no one was in a mood to celebrate a holiday of renewal with winter barely over. But Easter fell on April 12 in 2009, with nary a snowstorm or hailstorm in recent memory for much of the country (except North Dakota and the Denver area, alas), and in fact the weather in the New York area was somewhat agreeable in the days leading up to the Easter weekend.

Dude, people buy candy for Easter gifts, and in a major recession such temporal goodies are the first to go. The calendar has nothing to do with it.