Advent day 16... The candy cane
See advent day 15 here
"We Elves try and stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup."
Candy canes have become a part of Christmas, especially in regards to decorating trees, it is so popular to adorn your tree with candy canes. If we're all honest most candy canes don't even taste great, but they look cute!
According to popular stories candy canes began in Germany in 1670. In Cologne cathedral the choir master handed out sugar sticks to the children in the choir to keep them quiet during the service (it was nicer than beating them) but the congregation complained saying sugar sticks weren't in keeping with the religious aspects of the service. So the choir master moulded them in to hook shapes to represent the Shepherds to make them more in keeping with what his superiors wanted.
Of course, this story could just be a myth and Germans could have added the hook to the candy stick to enable them to hang it on to their Christmas trees.
In the USA in 1837 we see the first recorded 'Candy stick' in an exhibition in Massachusetts. At this time they were all white, and not the red and white we are used to today. The first recorded use of the word Candy cane comes in 1866.
Apparently the Christmas link came in 1847 when a German-Swedish immigrant bought the first Christmas tree to Ohio. He decorated the tree with the candy sticks and thus the Christmas connection began.
According to many there is religious symbolism with the red colour in the candy cane - meant to represent Jesus' blood but this is all myth. The colours were probably just added to make them more vibrant and attractive to customers. Plus once mass production began it was easy to produce colours. Although there seems to be no reasoning for the Peppermint flavouring.
In 1920 Bob McCormack from the USA began making candy canes for his friends and family. They became so popular he started his own business 'Bob's candies' with his brother in law Gregory Harding Keller. Keller invented the Keller machine which turned straight candy sticks in to a curved shape. Although they sold the business, these candy canes are still being made today!
So a lot of myth surrounds the Candy cane, but we can thank whoever did make them popular for making a Christmas item we can all enjoy.
Why not make yourself some homemade candy canes ... or even better a candy cane cocktail?
Are you a candy cane fan?
Comment below!
Rosie x
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