Sunday, December 21, 2014

History of the Candy Cane


While looking into the history of M&Ms it got me thinking. Candy canes are a fun holiday candy but, where did they come from? Is there a meaning behind the cane shape or the traditional red and white twist? Well, here’s what I found.

The history of candy canes goes back about 350 years when candy sticks were a popular type of candy. People began to have Christmas trees in their homes and they wanted something to put on them. Bent sugar sticks, now known as candy canes were just the right thing to hang on their trees.

The bend in the candy canes came from the idea of a choirmaster in Germany. He bent the sticks into canes, to represent a shepherd’s staff and they were handed out to children during nativity services. Historically the first time candy canes were introduced to American was when a German called, August Imgard came to America and put them on his tree, back in 1847.

Almost 50 years later, the stripes were added to the candy canes, along with their minty flavor. Hanging candy canes on the Christmas tree has become a popular tradition for millions of people, and I’m sure will continue for many, many years.


 

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