History of the Candy Cane By: Julie Lence

eat this, not that 

Today’s red & white stripped candy dates back to 17^th century Europe when pulled sugar was popular. Most historians agree the treat came about when a German choirmaster gave his singers sugar sticks to keep them quiet during the Living Creche ceremony. Some suggest he was the one who crooked the top of the stick to resemble the shepherd’s cane. Others believe the crook was added (also in Germany) to hang the sticks on trees alongside fruits and other treats.

The original sugar stick was white and debuted in the United States in 1847 in Wooster, Ohio. German-Swedish immigrant, August Imgard decorated a blue spruce with paper ornaments and the crooked sugar sticks. From there, the candy cane appeared on Christmas cards in the early 1900’s, with the red stripes and peppermint flavor added around the same time.

Bob's Candies, Georgiaencyclopedia.org 

Atlanta’s Bob McCormick is credited in the 1920’s as being the first to give candy canes as special treats to his family and friends. The treats were made by hand and labor intensive until the when Gregory Keller (Bob’s brother-in-law) built a machine to mass produce candy canes. Greg’s company, Bob’s Candies, has been producing and distributing candy canes worldwide for over 80 years. 

Gregory Keller; encompassnews.org

Religious legend suggests the red and white striped candy cane has a religious meaning. The red stripes represent the blood of Jesus and the white stripes represents the purity of Jesus. It is believed the 3 fine stripes are the Holy Trinity, while the J shape of the cane represents the name Jesus. The hardness of the candy represents the foundation of the church and peppermint flavor is believed to stem from the herb hyssop, which symbolizes the purity of Jesus in the Old Testament.  

Wikipedia

Today, over 1 billion candy canes are produced int he United States. They come in different sizes and flavors, but red & white remains the most popular. Personally, I’m not one for the taste of peppermint, but I think they’re pretty and hang them on my tree.