The Story of the Christmas Candy Cane

When people in Europe began making decorations for their Christmas trees, many of the decorations were already made from food, including cookies and candy.  Straight, white sticks of sugar candy, called candy canes, became a favorite decoration around the 17th century.  Some of the canes were bent into shepherd's crooks and passed out to children who attended ceremonies at the Cologne Cathedral.  Later in America, the use of candy canes as a Christmas decoration became as popular as in Europe.

At some point, a candy cane maker began striping the canes, which caught on in popularity.  The white represents the purity of Jesus, the bold red stripe symbolizes God's love and the blood that Jesus shed, and the three fine stripes represent the Holy Trinity:  the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

I don't know how you feel about candy canes, but I wouldn't want a Christmas season without having a few around to look at and, of course, to enjoy eating!