CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - National Hard Candy Day on December 19th recognizes the sweet tooth that's inside all of us. Officials warn of holiday tree and candle fire risks Typically, hard candies are 100% sugar with flavoring and colors added, and to achieve this, confectioners boil a sugar syrup to 320 degrees Fahrenheit, states the National Day Calendar. Once that temperature is reached, the hot, pliable sugar is poured into molds or rolled and folded into shapes, and once cool, solid sugar becomes hardened and brittle. Some of the first hard candies were lemon drops and peppermints and were likely prescribed for stomach ailments. They became popular in the seventeenth century as sugar prices fell. Back in 2015, Jolly Rancher surpassed Werther's Original as the best-selling hard candy. Some other popular hard candies include Dum Dum Pops, Life Savers, Tootsie Roll Pops, and Charms Blow Pop. To celebrate, Yelp has created a list of the top candy stores to visit in western Massachusetts: Sturbridge Candy & Gift Shoppe – 500 Main Street, Sturbridge Robin’s Candy – 288 Main Street, Great Barrington Sweeties Fine Chocolate & Confections – 68 Main Street, Northampton Richardson’s Candy Kitchen – 500 Greenfield Road Route 5 & 10, Deerfield Williamsburg General Store – 12 Main Street, Williamsburg Mo’s Fudge Factor – 9 State Street, Shelburne Falls Pete’s Sweets – 32 Shaker Road, East Longmeadow Atkins Farms – 1150 West Street, Amherst Firetype Chocolate – 150 Main Street, Northampton Chocolate Springs Cafe – 55 Pittsfield Road, Lenox Local News Headlines Two suspects arrested for scheme targeting Massachusetts elderly, including West Springfield National Hard Candy Day: Top candy stores in western Massachusetts Shipping deadlines to mail Christmas packages Ollie’s law goes into effect in Massachusetts WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.