The first historical reference to the familiar cane shape goes back
to 1670, when the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany,
bent the sugar-sticks into canes to represent a shepherd's staff.
The all-white candy canes were given out to children during the
long-winded nativity services.
The clergymen's custom of handing out candy canes during
Christmas services spread throughout Europe and later to America.
The canes were still white, but sometimes the candy-makers would
add sugar-roses to decorate the canes further.
The first historical reference to the candy cane being in
America goes back to 1847, when a German immigrant called August
Imgard decorated the Christmas tree in his Wooster, Ohio home with
candy canes.
The Stripes
About fifty years later the first red-and-white striped candy canes
appeared. No one knows who exactly invented the stripes, but
Christmas cards prior to the year 1900 showed only all-white candy
canes. Christmas cards after 1900 showed illustrations of striped
candy canes. Around the same time, candy-makers added peppermint
and wintergreen flavors to their candy canes and those flavors then
became the traditional favorites.
Sweet Secrets of the Candy Cane
There are many other legends and beliefs surrounding the humble
candy cane. Many of them depict the candy cane as a secret symbol
for Christianity used during the times when Christian were living
under more oppressive circumstances. It was said that the cane was
shaped like a "J" for Jesus. The red-and-white stripes represented
Christ's blood and purity. The three red stripes symbolized the
Holy Trinity. The hardness of the candy represented the Church's
foundation on solid rock and the peppermint flavor represented the
use of hyssop, an herb referred to in the Old Testament. There is
no historical evidence to support these claims, quite the
contrary, but they are lovely thoughts.
Gregory Keller
A Catholic priest called Gregory Keller invented a machine to
automate candy cane production during the 1950's.
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