J Is For Jesus

A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would remind people of the true meaning of Christmas; so he made the candy cane to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God. The candy maker then shaped his cane into the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to the earth as Savior. It could also represent the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He reaches down to to reclaim the fallen lambs who, like sheep, have gone astray. Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life Even though this story is not true we still enjoy it very much. The Candy Cane Story.Candy Canes Have Sweetened Holidays For Centuries By Barbara Yost and and Emiliana Sandoval.When it comes to Christmas traditions, peppermint candy canes are right up there with fruitcake, holly and Santa’s beard. Peppermint desserts are about as festive as they come. Candy Canes are a fun holiday tradition that taste good too. Their pretty red and white stripes make them perfect Christmas tree ornaments while the crook at the top makes them easy to hang.“It came about because of the color red,” says Nancy Baggett, author of “The All-American Dessert Book” (Houghton Mifflin, 2005, $35 hardcover). “Now it’s so popular at the holidays.”It is said that the first candy canes were created in 1670. The choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany noticed that his youthful singers became restless during the long holiday ceremonies.There had to be a way to keep the children from distracting the congregation with their noisy whispering between hymns. A wonderful idea occurred to him - the choirmaster gave the singers sugar sticks to enjoy during the breaks. And because it was Christmas, he had the candies bent into the shape of a shepherd’s crook. The ancient symbol of a shepherd’s crook represents those humble shepherds whom legend has it were the first to worship the newborn Christ.The candies became popular and over the years people began to use the candy canes as Christmas tree decorations. It wasn’t until the late 1800s however, that the cheerful red and white stripes and the peppermint flavoring were added.Some note that, when turned upside down, the candy cane forms a “J,” for Jesus. Others see the holy trinity symbolized in the thick red lines, thin red lines and white background.A less-spiritual interpretation finds a similarity between old-time barber poles and the swirled peppermint stick that dates to 19th-century England, although candy canes today are mostly part of American culture, Baggett says.Candy canes reportedly made their first U.S. appearance in a candy shop in Albany, Ga., when Bob McCormack started making batches of them by hand in the 1920s. His brother-in-law invented a candy cane machine in the 1950s. Now, about 1.8 billion candy canes are made each year.

Side note if you notice only 1 cane cookie is a J the others we did backwards...