History of the Candy Cane
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you enjoy this short article I whipped up for the holiday.
The history of the candy cane is marred in tradition and folklore as it has multiple origin stories that no one is sure of which are true or not. Many say it has roots in Christianity, while others believe it was a gradual process that changed with the times to create the sweet treat we now enjoy today. Compiled below are a few of the stories that range from least to most likely.
The Indiana Story
One of the most common stories heard about how the candy cane came to be is the one of an Indiana candy maker. It is said that he wanted to create a treat that could serve as a witness for Jesus and have as many symbols for the life of Christ as possible. He began with a hard stick of white candy. The white was to represent the virgin birth and the pure sinless life of the savior. The candies hardness was to be a homage to the Solid Rock, the foundation of the church, and to symbolize the firmness of God's promise of eternal life to us. He then bent the straight stick into a hook to form a “J” that would represent the first letter of Jesus’ name, also realizing that it looked like a shepards staff which would serve as a reminder that the Lord is the Good Shepherd. The candy maker then thought that the candy looked a bit plain and decided to add red stripes to it. These were to represent the beatings and the blood that Jesus had to shed in order for our sins to be forgiven.
A common informational pamphlet given out with candy canes. Courtesy of Life With Lorelai.
After he went public with the candy it is believed that they became quite popular with churches and were often given to children that behaved during the services. Another common part of the story is that Christians that lived in countries that persecuted them would use the candy cane as a way to identify fellow Christains, though there is little evidence of this happening. In reality there is almost no truth to this story as the white candy sticks, precursors to todays candy cane, predates this story by well over 100 years and there is no evidence that the supposed candy maker who invented them existed. If he did then there may be some truth to the story as the red stripe on the candy cane did not appear until around the turn of the century, but this theory is anything but confirmed.
Courtesy of Why Christmas.
The Choir Story
Another often told story originates in the Cologne Cathedral in Germany. A choirmaster at the cathedral gave sugar sticks to his young chorus members to keep them quiet during the Nativity Scene ceremony. In honor of the Christmas season he bent them to look like shepherds hooks. Another version of the story says that the choirmaster gave the boys regular straight sugar sticks but the church board complained that eating them was not appropriate in a church setting. He then bent the sticks into the shape of a shepherds hook to have religious symbolism and appease the board. Many historians agree that this is one of the more likely stories for the origin of the candy cane as pulled sugar candy, the precursor to today's hard sugar sticks, were extremely popular across Europe at this time. However it does not explain how the modern candy cane came to be.
Traditional pulled sugar sticks. Courtesy of True Treats Historic Candy.
The August Imgard Story
August Imgard was a German immigrant who was credited with introducing the Christmas tree to Ohio in 1847, and, as it turns out, he may also be the one who introduced candy canes to the United States. The National Confectioners Association states that when he presented the first Christmas tree he “decorated a small blue spruce with paper ornaments and candy canes.” This tree was then displayed in Wooster, Ohio where the tradition caught on rather quickly.
Picture of August Imgard. Courtesy of Find A Grave.
However there is an issue with this story, an article written in 1938 about a celebration to honor Imgard where an exact replica of his original tree was decorated by Imgards relatives says that this tree was decorated differently. It claims that instead the tree was covered with paper ornaments and Kuchen, a type of cake that was baked according to a recipe from Imgards grandmother. These small cakes were then decorated and hung on the tree as decoration. Gilded nuts also festooned the spindly limbs and contained Christmas messages and greeting inside of them. No candy canes or hard candy of any type was mentioned so it is up in the air whether Imgard introduced the sweet treat to the country or not.
Imgards grave. Courtesy of Digital Resource Commons.
Modern Candy Canes
Many historians agree that the hook of the candy cane was added to make it easy to hang on trees while the Christain symbolism came later. It is known for sure that the red stripe and peppermint flavoring became common around the turn of the century but did not become popular until the 1950s. This is when machines were introduced to the candy making process and were able to bend and twist the brittle sugar much more easily. Before automation, candymakers would have to twist the sugary treat by hand, oftentimes breaking them in the process. Some candy makers reporting that as much as 20% of the canes were broken during the twisting process before machines took over.
No matter which story is true the candy cane is now a ubiquitous part of Christmas for both Christians and non-Christians alike.
Courtesy of All City Candy.
Personal Thoughts
Being a Christian I’ve always heard the story of candy canes being invented to have Christian symbolism, but I never really believed it because I just thought it was too perfect. While it may have some Christian roots I tend to side more with historians that say that the religious symbolism came later. While I would be happy if it was made to be a witness for the Lord I think that it’s already used greatly to that effect and a story shouldn’t be made up to try and make it more viable.
Sources
Cover photo is courtesy of Getty Images
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/we-dont-know-the-origins-of-the-candy-cane-but-they-almost-certainly-were-not-christian-157380385/
https://www.history.com/news/candy-canes-invented-germany
https://time.com/5069554/candy-cane-story/
http://www.candyhistory.net/candy-origin/candy-cane-history/
