You may have heard the popular story of the origin of the
candy cane. It’s a great story about a candy maker from Indiana who set out to
create a piece of candy that would tell the true meaning of Christmas.
As the story goes, this man called his creation the
Christmas Candy Cane, but unfortunately the name was later reduced and the word
Christmas was left out.
The story includes all of the ideas that went into the
finished product. The cane is shaped like a shepherd’s staff, which symbolizes
the shepherds who visited the baby Jesus on the first Christmas; it also
symbolizes that Jesus became our Good Shepherd. And if you turn the cane upside
down, the staff becomes the letter J, which stands for Jesus.
The candy is very hard, reminding us that Jesus is the rock
of our salvation. The candy was originally pure white, just as the Christ Child
lived a pure life. But the candy maker was not satisfied with a simple white
cane, so he added the color red. Red was chosen because it is the color of the
blood that Jesus shed for us, and this red descended as three stripes as a
picture of the stripes that Jesus received at His scourging.
These features of the candy cane paint a beautiful story,
and they can certainly remind us of our Lord. Unfortunately, the story of the
candy maker isn’t true.
For starters, the candy cane was invented in the 17th
Century, long before there ever was an Indiana. Ancient Christmas cards have
pictures of the candy cane drawn on them, so we know that they have been around
for a very long time.
This candy has evolved over time. It originated as a stick,
not a cane. And it was pure white for a time, with the red stripes being added
later. Some say that it became associated with Christmas as a tree decoration,
similar to popcorn. Others say that it was used to entice children to be quiet
during Christmas Eve services.
While we don’t know all the details for sure, we do know
that the popular emails and even the children’s book on the topic are false.*
I am not writing this to be the Scrooge of candy canes. I
just found this out recently when I was researching the story to use with our
AWANA kids at church. I figure that there are many people who, like me, have
unintentionally misled people with this great story.
I worry that children might one day find out that this story
isn’t true, and then they may throw the baby out with the bath water. One
professor will tell them that Creation isn’t true, while another tells them
their absolute values should be more subjective. They will begin to think that
we have been lying to them their whole lives.
That might be a little overzealous on my part, but I never
want to be guilty of leading these students astray.
With all that said, we don’t have to abandon the candy cane
in our children’s churches. We can still use all of the analogies because they
are still fitting. In fact, this year I am giving out candy canes to all of our
students, and with the cane I am attaching a poem that highlights these illustrations.
The candy cane is still a great object lesson because it is
delicious, fun, Christmassy, and most of all, accurate in its symbolism.
Here is a link to a website with a printable poem that does
not mention Indiana or any dates, just the rich object lessons from the candy
cane. This is what we are using this Christmas, and hopefully it can help you
too.
Merry Christmas!
*http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/candycane.asp
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