Candy canes are cane shaped candies with white and red stripes and flavored with peppermint and cinnamon. Other varieties contain other colors and flavors. Candy canes are made in different sizes and thickness. It is available whole year round but demand increases during the Christmas season.
Origin of the Christmas Candy Cane
It was said that the first Christmas candy cane was made for a choirmaster in Cologne Cathedral in Germanyin 1670. The candies are bent to look like canes and were given to children after the mass. A shepherd staff or cane represents Jesus as The Good Shepherd.
It was also a tradition in Europe to decorate their Yule trees or Christmas trees with food and placing candy canes are a good choice for it is easy to place in branches of trees and doesn’t spoil easily.
In America, the Christmas tradition of placing candy canes in Christmas trees were first recorded in 1847 when an immigrant named August Imgard decorated his Christmas tree with candy canes. Its popularity spreads as it has been depicted as a Christmas tree decoration as seen in many Christmas cards.
The candy cane also resembles the letter J for Jesus and on the other hand looks like a Shepherd’s staff symbolizing The Nativity Story when Jesus was visited by shepherds when he was born in a manger.
The white stripes of the candy cane is said to represent Christ’s purity while red is for his sacrifices. But no official record has been found to support this claim.
If you love sweets then the candy cane during Christmas holidays is great to have!
