Admin
Admin
Number of posts : 4171
Age : 66
Location : Texas
Registration date : 2008-10-24
 | | Subject: Tradition of the Candy Cane Thu Nov 06, 2008 2:46 pm | |
| Tradition of the Candy Cane
The candy cane begins with a stick of white candy. The white symbolizes the purity of the Christmas season
Red stripes are for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we may have eternal life.
The Candy is formed into a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus. It can also represent the staff of the Good Shepherd. Its hard consistency represents the Solid Rock , the foundation of the church and the firmness of the promises of God | |
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Admin
Admin
Number of posts : 4171
Age : 66
Location : Texas
Registration date : 2008-10-24
| | Subject: Re: Tradition of the Candy Cane Thu Nov 06, 2008 2:46 pm | |
| It was not long after Europeans began using Christmas trees that special decorations were used to adorn them. Food items, such as candies and cookies, were used predominately and straight white candy sticks were one of the confections used as ornamentation. Legend has it that during the 17th century, craftsmen created the white sticks of candy in the shape of shephreds' crooks at the suggestion of the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany.
The candy treats were given to children to keep them quiet during ceremonies at the living creche, or Nativity scene, and the custom of passing out the candy crooks at such ceremonies soon spread throughout Europe. |
According to the National Confectioner's Association, in 1847 German immigrant August Imgard used the candy cane to decorate a Christmas tree in Wooster, Ohio. More than 50 years later, Bob McCormack of Albany, Georgia supposedly made candy canes as treats for family, friends and local shopkeepers. McCormack's brother-in-law, Catholic priest Gregory Keller, invented a machine in the 1950s that automated the production of candy canes, thus eliminating the usual laborious process of creating the treats and the popularity of the candy cane grew.
More recent explanations of the candy cane's symbolism hold that the color white represents Christ's purity, the red the blood he shed, and the presence of three red stripes the Holy Trinity. While factual evidence for these notions does not exist, they have become increasingly common and at times are even represented as fact. Regardless, the candy cane remains a favorite holiday treat and decoration. | |
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