Where did the striped candy canes come from? They have been around for 350 years, but originally they were all white
Almost everyone has seen the hard red-and-white confection with a curved end known as a candy cane, but few know how long this popular treat has been around. Its origins date back to the beginning of the 17th century, when Christians in Europe began using trees as part of their Christmas celebrations. In those days, trees were often decorated with food items such as cookies and sugar candies. However, the original candy on the Christmas tree was a completely white, straight stick.
The first historical mention of a bent staff dates back to 1670. At that time, the choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral in Germany bent candy canes to represent a shepherd’s staff and distributed them to young singers.
Christmas tree with candy canes
Over time, the custom of clergy to hand out candy during Christmas services spread throughout Europe and later in America. At that time, wands were still white, but sometimes manufacturers decided to decorate them. In America, the first mention of candy canes was in 1847, when a Swedish-German immigrant named August Imgard decorated the Christmas tree at his home in Wooster, Ohio, with paper ornaments and candy canes.
The red and white stripes did not appear until approximately 50 years later. No one knows exactly who came up with this new design, but according to surviving historical Christmas cards, no striped candy boxes appeared before 1900. Illustrations of striped wands did not appear until the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1919, a candy maker named Bob McCormack began making candy canes, and by mid-century his company Bob’s Candies had become famous for its candies. Initially, the wands had to be bent by hand to form a “J” shape. But that changed thanks to his brother-in-law Gregory Keller, who invented a machine to automate the production of candy canes.
However, some Christian superstitions claim that, to this day, the staff was in the shape of “J” because the name Jesus begins with this letter. The red and white stripes were to represent Christ’s blood and purity. The three red stripes are also meant to symbolize the Holy Trinity, and the hardness of the candy represents. the church’s foundation on solid rock. However, there is no historical evidence to support this.
Sources: The Conversation, Candy History,