The Story of the Candy Cane

   I love everything about the Christmas season.  I love putting up the tree, baking and frosting cookies, making gingerbread houses, putting up the lights, and yes even the Christmas snow.  I also enjoy the vibrant colors of red and green that you see wherever you go and the symbols of Christmas that you see everywhere that can include: the gingerbread man, the snowman, the manger, the star, pine trees, candy canes, and much much more.  The other day though, I started thinking, "When did these Christmas traditions start?" Well, I decided to find out.  Let's start with the candy cane, a red and white striped candy that can be licked for hours or used to decorate a tree. How did this candy originate and what does it mean? Keep reading to find out.
    The original candy canes started to appear in the seventeenth century around the same time that it became popular to decorate Christmas trees in Europe.  Back then, people often made their own decorations and they often consisted of things like cookies and candies.  These candy canes looked a little different though, as they were straight and solid white.
    It wasn't until 1670 that the candy cane got its hook like shape.  A choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral bent the candies into the shape of a hook to represent the shepherd's staff.  He then passed them out to the Children to keep them from fidgeting during the Living Nativity ceremonies.  After this it became popular to hand these staff shaped candy canes out during church ceremonies.
  In the 1800's using candy canes as Christmas tree decorations became popular in America and it wasn't until the 1920's that the red stripes appeared.
   The candy cane has also become a symbol for the Christian faith.  The hardness of the candy represents God's church being founded on a rock.  The shape of the candy can either represent a "J" for Jesus or a shepherd's staff, showing how Jesus watches over his children, or flock.  The red stripes represent Jesus' blood, and the three small stripes represent either the Holy Trinity or they can represent our small sacrifices in comparison with Jesus' one big sacrifice represented by the big stripe.
  Candy Canes are a great way to celebrate the holiday season.  They taste good, can be used for decoration, and even remind us what Christmas is all about, the birth of our Savior, Jesus.

Info from:
http://www.candycanefacts.com/candy-cane-history/
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2004/cane.html

Picture from:
http://idesigniphone.com/candy-canes