Birth of the Candy Cane
The origin of the candy cane goes back over 350 years,
In 1670 during the Living Creche ceremony at the Cologne Cathedral,
the choirmaster handed out these sugar sticks to keep the young singers quiet.
The original candy cane was white in color, no stripes! Legend has it that he bent the
sticks to appear as shepherd’s hooks.
The clergymen's custom of handing out candy canes during Christmas services
spread throughout Europe and later to America. The canes were still white,
but sometimes the candy-makers would add sugar-roses to decorate the canes further.
The Candy Cane in America
The first historical reference to the candy cane being in America goes back to 1847,
when a German immigrant called August Imgard decorated the Christmas tree in his Wooster,
Ohio home with candy canes.
About fifty years later the first red-and-white striped candy canes appeared.
No one knows who exactly invented the stripes, but Christmas cards prior to the year
1900 showed only all-white candy canes. Christmas cards after 1900 showed illustrations
of striped candy canes. Around the same time, candy-makers added peppermint
and wintergreen flavors to their candy canes and those flavors then
became the traditional favorites.
In Atlanta, Georgia, a man by the name of Bob McCormack got the idea of making these candy canes
as special treats for his relatives, friends, and other shopkeepers. Since the process of
making the canes entailed so much labor, he was only able to do this locally.
And then it happened! Bob’s brother, Gregory Keller, knew there had to be an easier
way to make the candy canes. Gregory invented a machine to produce the canes at a much faster pace.
Therefore, Bob’s Candies has become the largest producer of candy canes in the world.
The Stripes
There are many other legends and beliefs surrounding the candy cane.
It was said that the cane was shaped like a "J" for Jesus.
The red-and-white stripes represented Christ's blood and purity.
The three red stripes symbolized the Holy Trinity.
There is no historical evidence to support these claims, quite the contrary,
but they are lovely thoughts.
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Candy Cane Seeds ![](candycane/candycanerdot.gif)
This is a cute, easy, and inexpensive Christmas Project, especially for the kids.
Perfect for table favors, "Secret Santa" Gifts, stocking stuffers, or to hand out to
those who deserve a little treat.
It makes a great service project to make for tray favors for a Senior Home or a shelter.
Materials
- Card stock or other heavy paper.
- Labels (the graphic below is set for Label #5163)
- Red Ribbon
- Sandwich size plastic bags or small gift bags
- Small red striped peppermint candies (Starlight Mints)
Directions
- Upload graphic below to your computer (right click -- Save As)
- Open the graphic in your publishing program. Template should be set for Label #5163
(prints 10 labels per sheet)
- Add poem text.
- Print labels
- Attach label to card (or stick on bag)
- If you attach the label to card, punch hole in card for ribbon
- Thread ribbon through hole
- Fill bag with a few candies
- Tie bag closed with ribbon
Candy Cane Seeds Poem
I once knew a Gardner who knew how to grow
Bright tasty candies, from under the snow
I asked her to share her secret with me
And so she replied quite readily,
"To garden in winter snow is difficult you see,
It takes lots of care and very special seed"
Here are a few seeds to grow your own treats
You'll soon reap a harvest of
candy cane treats!
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Elkhorn-Waterloo Assembly #38 Home Page
![](candycane/candycanemail.gif)
luna169oes@(REMOVE)msn.com
The song you are hearing is
It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
The font used on this page is
![](candycane/candycanefont.gif)
It looks like the text on the button above
If your text doesn't look like this, you can download the
"Candy Cane"
font by left-clicking on the button above, then save the file to your
C://Windows/fonts file
Created October 26, 2008
Last Updated February 14, 2009 - (12/10-13) 22
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