CULLMAN – Now that Christmas has come and gone, there is one thing most every house has lying around waiting to be eaten – candy canes. Stuffed into red and green stockings, hanging on Christmas trees or scattered throughout your children’s rooms, the delicious candy will linger around until the last one is eaten. Ever wonder where candy canes came from and why they are so popular at Christmastime?
The sticky, sweet candy cane originated in Germany about 250 years ago, but you may be surprised to know they weren’t always red and white with the top curved over to look like a cane. They actually started out as a plain old straight, white sugary stick!
According to folklore, in 1670, in Cologne, Germany, the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral was worried about the children sitting quietly all through the long Christmas nativity service. After fretting over the situation a while, he asked a local candy maker to make some sweet sticks for them to munch on during the service. To justify giving candy to the children during the church services, he asked the candy maker to add a crook to the top of each stick, which would help children remember the shepherds who visited the infant Jesus in the manger.
Over time, there have been other Christian meanings given to the different parts of the candy cane. For example, the 'J' can also mean Jesus, the white part of the cane can represent the purity of Jesus Christ and the red stripes can be for the blood he shed when he died on the cross. The peppermint flavor can represent the hyssop plant that was used for purifying in the Bible.
It wasn’t until the year 1900, or thereabout, that the red stripes were added to the candy canes. It was also then they were flavored with peppermint or wintergreen to add the familiar taste we know and love today.
Around 1920, Georgia candy cane lover, Bob McCormack, began making his own candy canes and treated his family and friends with them. They were so good, more and more people wanted them. Bob’s candy canes became extremely popular and before long he started his own business called Bob's Candies.
Keeping the candy cane business in the family, Bob McCormack's brother-in-law, Gregory Harding Keller, a Catholic priest, invented the Keller Machine which turned straight candy sticks into curved candy canes automatically.
In 2005, Bob's Candies was bought by Farley and Sathers. Thankfully they have continued making the yummy candy canes Bob and Father Gregory loved so much.
Not only are they great to eat, but candy canes also work wonders on sore throats during cold and flu season. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if candy canes were as popular year round as they are during the holiday season?
Random candy cane trivia: candy canes arrived in the U.S. in 1847, when a German immigrant in Ohio used them to decorate his Christmas tree.
Information gathered from various online resources.
