Saturday, December 12, 2009

Candy Cane Christmas


Candy Cane Christmas
Originally uploaded by tres.jolie

Here's a little red story, in honor of candy canes.

I recently learned that straight white sticks of candy were a welcome treat in Europe hundred of years ago.

The choir master of Cologne Cathedral created the modern shape for the canes in 1670, by having the sticks bent at the top to look like a shepherd's staff or crook.

This shepherd's staff shape was to remind church goers of the shepherds who tended their sheep in the hills of Bethlehem on that holiest of all nights.

Christmas music at the Cathedral was sometimes disrupted by children being noisy, so the choir master devised the clever idea of handing out "candy canes" to children as they entered the cathedral.

His ploy was so popular that it spread quickly throughout Europe, as churches adopted his idea and in 1847 August Imgard, a German immigrant, used candy canes to decorate his tree in Wooster, Ohio. Red and white stripes were first seen in about 1900, and now they are a welcome and tasty Christmas decoration in countless homes.

6 comments:

GARAGE SALE GAL said...

Hi Terra,
Thank you for the Christmas card! That was very kind of you.
I am almost finished with the book.
Happy Weekend.
Warmly,
Deb :)

Sue @ Not the Good Scissors! said...

Hi Terra, thank you for stopping by my blog. The history of the cany cane makes sense especially handing them out to children in church.

I am always amazed by enduring traditions and enjoy learning about the history of the tradition.
Take care, Sue

Jody Hedlund said...

I love that story! I have a children's book that I read to my children every Christmas called the Legend of the Candy Cane.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

Thank you for making a comment on my blog today. I've just been looking up the legend of the Candy Cane and found one that is a bit like your story yet a little different too. I love all things Christmas and try to share a little every day.

Terra said...

Hi All,
I wrote more about the creation of candy canes in my book about Christmas. There is more to the story but this gives a bit of background.
I love to know the background of our traditions.

Holly Lefevre said...

We love candy canes here! I am going to share this with my son..he will love the story.