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The first historical reference to the candy cane being in America goes back to 1847, when a German immigrant called August Imgard decorated the Christmas tree in his Wooster, Ohio home with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.