We all have seen this particular shape of seasonal candy that looks like a cane with red stripes during Christmas season. People love to munch on these and use them to decorate all types of gifts. Its particular shape makes it a favorite among the many treats offered during this season even tough not everybody knows much about its origins or the work involved in producing such a delightful cane.
This provocative sweet finds its origin in the last half of the 17th century when almost everybody in Europe were converted to christianianity and thus celebrated Christmas with almost the same traditions. At that time became very popular to celebrate decorating trees and many of the items used to do so were food items which included candy and cookies. It was then that the first candy cane appeared but not with the shape we all nowadays. It was all but a straight white cane with no stripes at all.
In about 1670 there were many pageants of living chèches which were common part in the celebrations at the cologne cathedral. There the choirmaster had all the attending children to have this specially made canes of candy bent in the shape of a shepherd's crook. This particular gift gained great popularity and became a tradition and giving candy canes on Christmas spread through Europe.
But, how did the candy canes come to America? well, It was in the 1800's that they were introduced but they still had its traditional white look. Some representations of the candy dated from before 1900 and have its original plain white look and it is not until the early 20th century the the red stripes were included in their design.
Recently there seems to be more books and articles about the real origin of the candy stick but they all seem to lack reliable sources and most of them rely heavily on traditions and some popular knowledge about the cane. Nobody is really sure about its first appearance or the real motive. One thing is for sure. They were made to decorate Christmas trees.
Not everybody realizes the rich history that a candy brings to our Christmas holiday. It is a lot more than just a decoration or a sweet tasting candy. Actually, it is a great deal more than any of those things. The legends of the candy dates back to a time that no-one of us were present for but, yet, all of these years later can still glorify its true meaning and importance that coincides with the great holiday of Christmas.
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