 "LEDGEND OF CANDY CANES"
It was not long after Europeans began using Christmas trees that special decorations
were used to adorn them. Food items, such as candies and cookies, were used
predominately and
straight white candy sticks were one of the confections used
as ornamentation.
Legend has it that during the 17th century, craftsmen created the white
sticks of candy in the shape of shephreds' crooks at the suggestion of the choirmaster at the
Cologne Cathedral in Germany.
The candy treats were given to children to keep them quiet during ceremonies at the living creche,
or Nativity scene, and the custom of passing out the candy crooks at such
ceremonies soon spread throughout Europe.
According to the National Confectioner's Association, in 1847 German immigrant August
Imgard used the candy cane to decorate a Christmas tree in Wooster, Ohio.
More than 50 years later, Bob McCormack of Albany, Georgia supposedly made
candy canes as treats for family, friends and local shopkeepers.
McCormack's brother-in-law,
Catholic priest Gregory Keller, invented a machine in the 1950s that automated the production
of candy canes, thus eliminating the usual laborious process of creating the treats and the popularity
of the candy cane grew.
More recent explanations of the candy cane's symbolism hold that the color white represents
Christ's purity, the red the blood he shed, and the presence of three red stripes the Holy Trinity.
While factual evidence for these notions does not exist, they have become increasingly
common and at times are even represented as fact. Regardless, the candy cane remains
a favorite holiday treat and decoration.
Candy Cane Ledgend
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