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The Candy Cane
The Candy Cane
Gift of Love
Copyright Armando Roy Chaboya, 2007
At a time when many people are so frustrated with Christmas shopping and preparing for their big Christmas party, somehow we seem to know that something is missing. That something is the Christ in Christmas. I have found that at this time of the year it is so easy and natural to share the Christ of Christmas by simply giving people a gift, a candy cane and asking them if they have ever heard the story of the candy cane.
I usually begin by saying “Early Merry Christmas” (I begin doing so late in November) or “When is the last time someone gave you a candy cane?” Most people respond with “Its been years!” And then I ask them “Have you ever heard the story of the candy cane?” Most people say no. What follows then is a story based in part in fact and part in tradition.
The candy cane began as a straight white stick candy made by priests in France in the 1400’s. In the 1670’s a German choirmaster is credited with adding the traditional crook at the top, some suggesting it represented a shepherd’s staff. Whether the choirmaster had the “Good Shepherd” in mind is conjecture. His use of the candy was to keep children quiet during the singing! With this addition, the candy canes could be hung on Christmas trees, another innovation in Europe during the 1600‘s.
The candy cane that is red striped and peppermint flavored is an American innovation. Who first did so and why is lost in history, but many Christians hold to the following story. I tell the story as follows, perhaps with a few embellishments, but the essential message is the same.
Created years ago by an American candy maker in Indiana, in the 1880’s to combat the “rampant materialism” obscuring the true meaning of Christmas, the candy cane was and remains special. It was a hard candy because Jesus is the “Rock of Ages” who can be relied on and on whom the Church is built. All of his promises are a sure foundation for living.
The candy cane was formed as a shepherd’s staff to remind us that Jesus is the “Good Shepherd” who came to seek and save the lost. Flipped upside down, it forms a “J” the first letter of his name, the name given under heaven whereby we must be saved.
The broad white stripes remind us of his virgin birth of Mary and characterizes his sinless life. The three small stripes illustrate the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and recall that by his stripes we are healed. The one large red stripe portrayed the blood that Jesus shed on the Cross to purchase our salvation by washing away our sins. Forgiveness is now available to all!
Last of all, the candy cane is sweet to the taste to remind us that it is “the goodness of God that leads us to salvation. It also brings to mind that if we would only “taste and see that the Lord is good “ we would be drawn to him! The peppermint flavoring was meant to call to our remembrance that Jesus adds such flavor to life for he came that we “might have life and that abundantly.”
The candy maker said, that as long as people remembered and shared this story with others they would never forget the true meaning of Christmas. Now, neither will you! Merry Christmas!
In Jesus, the Reason for the Season,
Rose
Gift of Love
Copyright Armando Roy Chaboya, 2007
At a time when many people are so frustrated with Christmas shopping and preparing for their big Christmas party, somehow we seem to know that something is missing. That something is the Christ in Christmas. I have found that at this time of the year it is so easy and natural to share the Christ of Christmas by simply giving people a gift, a candy cane and asking them if they have ever heard the story of the candy cane.
I usually begin by saying “Early Merry Christmas” (I begin doing so late in November) or “When is the last time someone gave you a candy cane?” Most people respond with “Its been years!” And then I ask them “Have you ever heard the story of the candy cane?” Most people say no. What follows then is a story based in part in fact and part in tradition.
The candy cane began as a straight white stick candy made by priests in France in the 1400’s. In the 1670’s a German choirmaster is credited with adding the traditional crook at the top, some suggesting it represented a shepherd’s staff. Whether the choirmaster had the “Good Shepherd” in mind is conjecture. His use of the candy was to keep children quiet during the singing! With this addition, the candy canes could be hung on Christmas trees, another innovation in Europe during the 1600‘s.
The candy cane that is red striped and peppermint flavored is an American innovation. Who first did so and why is lost in history, but many Christians hold to the following story. I tell the story as follows, perhaps with a few embellishments, but the essential message is the same.
Created years ago by an American candy maker in Indiana, in the 1880’s to combat the “rampant materialism” obscuring the true meaning of Christmas, the candy cane was and remains special. It was a hard candy because Jesus is the “Rock of Ages” who can be relied on and on whom the Church is built. All of his promises are a sure foundation for living.
The candy cane was formed as a shepherd’s staff to remind us that Jesus is the “Good Shepherd” who came to seek and save the lost. Flipped upside down, it forms a “J” the first letter of his name, the name given under heaven whereby we must be saved.
The broad white stripes remind us of his virgin birth of Mary and characterizes his sinless life. The three small stripes illustrate the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and recall that by his stripes we are healed. The one large red stripe portrayed the blood that Jesus shed on the Cross to purchase our salvation by washing away our sins. Forgiveness is now available to all!
Last of all, the candy cane is sweet to the taste to remind us that it is “the goodness of God that leads us to salvation. It also brings to mind that if we would only “taste and see that the Lord is good “ we would be drawn to him! The peppermint flavoring was meant to call to our remembrance that Jesus adds such flavor to life for he came that we “might have life and that abundantly.”
The candy maker said, that as long as people remembered and shared this story with others they would never forget the true meaning of Christmas. Now, neither will you! Merry Christmas!
In Jesus, the Reason for the Season,
Rose
I never read the intent and use, my mistake. But as you all know with this disease your brain does not fuction normal anymore. I will not post anything not pertaining to Hepatitis in the future. My apologies, please forgive me.
In Jesus, the Reason for the Season,
Rose
In Jesus, the Reason for the Season,
Rose
According to most of these sources, a faithful Indiana candymaker developed the treat as a witnessing tool. The candy is hard because God's church is founded on the rock, white because of Jesus's purity (or his virgin birth), peppermint flavored as a reference to cleansing hyssop, and curved to represent a shepherd's staff and/or the letter "J" for Jesus. Accounts vary regarding the red stripes, though they all agree that red stands for Christ's blood. Depending on which story you read, three small stripes might represent the Trinity, or small stripes could mean the stripes by which we're healed, or our small sacrifices in comparison to Christ's ultimate sacrifice (represented by a large stripe). One site even suggested that the green stripe sometimes featured reminds us that Jesus is a gift from God, though why green signifies a gift I don't know.
The motivation for candy cane apologetics can be seen in a quote from one of the sites: "Doesn't it seem strange that something we often see as unimportant and insignificant can be turned into something so vibrant, so important, simply by knowing its origin?" Of course, the same site proclaims that candy canes were originally a code between English Christians in the seventeenth century, when all public religious symbols were banned. That's simply not true, and neither are most of the other stories.
So where did candy canes come from? Tradition holds that in about 1670, the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral was frustrated by fidgety kids at the living Nativity. He had some white, sugar-candy sticks made to keep the youngsters quiet. The sticks were curved like shepherds' staffs in honor of the shepherds at the stable (score one for the apologists). The idea caught on, and candy sticks became common at living Nativities all over Europe.
In 1847, a German-Swedish immigrant named August Imgard put candy canes on his Christmas tree in Wooster, Ohio. The sweets gained popularity here, too, and around the turn of the century, they assumed their now familiar properties of red stripes and peppermint flavoring. (Though these elements might have been added for symbolic purposes, there's no evidence to confirm that theory.)
In Albany, Georgia, in the 1920s, a candymaker named Bob McCormack made canes as special treats for family and friends, but the confections were difficult to mass-produce. Then, in the 1950s, Bob's brother-in-law Gregory Keller, a Catholic priest, invented a machine to speed up the process. Other members of the McCormack family worked on new packaging to keep the canes from breaking in transit, and Bob's Candies (www.bobscandies.com) became the world's leading candy cane producer.
So yes, the candy cane's origin was Christian. But it was almost certainly not designed to be the tasty theological treatise it's now purported to be. As Barbara "the cane mutiny" Mikkelson posted on the Urban Legends Reference Pages (www.snopes2.com/holidays/xmas/cndycane.htm), "It's charming folklore at best, and though there's nothing wrong with Christians now finding (and celebrating) symbolism where there wasn't any before, there is something wrong with myths being presented as fact." For the sake of history, I have to agree with her.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/christmas/cane.html
The motivation for candy cane apologetics can be seen in a quote from one of the sites: "Doesn't it seem strange that something we often see as unimportant and insignificant can be turned into something so vibrant, so important, simply by knowing its origin?" Of course, the same site proclaims that candy canes were originally a code between English Christians in the seventeenth century, when all public religious symbols were banned. That's simply not true, and neither are most of the other stories.
So where did candy canes come from? Tradition holds that in about 1670, the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral was frustrated by fidgety kids at the living Nativity. He had some white, sugar-candy sticks made to keep the youngsters quiet. The sticks were curved like shepherds' staffs in honor of the shepherds at the stable (score one for the apologists). The idea caught on, and candy sticks became common at living Nativities all over Europe.
In 1847, a German-Swedish immigrant named August Imgard put candy canes on his Christmas tree in Wooster, Ohio. The sweets gained popularity here, too, and around the turn of the century, they assumed their now familiar properties of red stripes and peppermint flavoring. (Though these elements might have been added for symbolic purposes, there's no evidence to confirm that theory.)
In Albany, Georgia, in the 1920s, a candymaker named Bob McCormack made canes as special treats for family and friends, but the confections were difficult to mass-produce. Then, in the 1950s, Bob's brother-in-law Gregory Keller, a Catholic priest, invented a machine to speed up the process. Other members of the McCormack family worked on new packaging to keep the canes from breaking in transit, and Bob's Candies (www.bobscandies.com) became the world's leading candy cane producer.
So yes, the candy cane's origin was Christian. But it was almost certainly not designed to be the tasty theological treatise it's now purported to be. As Barbara "the cane mutiny" Mikkelson posted on the Urban Legends Reference Pages (www.snopes2.com/holidays/xmas/cndycane.htm), "It's charming folklore at best, and though there's nothing wrong with Christians now finding (and celebrating) symbolism where there wasn't any before, there is something wrong with myths being presented as fact." For the sake of history, I have to agree with her.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/christmas/cane.html
Mike Simon's ?????????????????????????????? means post non-HCV information on the Hepatitis COMMUNITY Forum not here on the Hepatitis SUPPORT Forum.
At Thanksgiving there was a lively exchange about posting only HCV-related topics, questions, treatment, support, etc. on this side of the forum. Happy Thanksgiving greetings, Jokes-of-the-day, Candy Cane (Gift of Love), etc. belong on the Hepatitis Community Forum.
At the risk of being flamed....I'm with Mike Simon on this one, only not as strongly stated.
When I visit this support forum I'm looking for new and relevant information about HCV, treatments, support issues, drugs in the pipeline, how I may be able to help someone newly diagnosed, etc. Personally I don't like to wade through the other stuff to get HCV-related data. There's other sites on the web full of other stuff.
OK guys; flame away. I'm the Grinch Who Stole Christmas; Ate Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer with mashed potatoes & gravy; love John Lennon's music but can't stand "Happy Christmas (War is Over)".....
Below is MedHelp's explanation of the intent and use of the Hepatitis forums. Maybe this will help.
miked
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
The Hepatitis SUPPORT Forum is where you can post your questions about medical issues and research aspects of Hepatitis. It is the place to post information and participate in discussions about research studies and clinical trials related to Hepatitis.
The Hepatitis COMMUNITY Forum is our Patient-to-Patient Hepatitis Community Forum is where you can communicate and share support with other people interested in Hepatitis.
At Thanksgiving there was a lively exchange about posting only HCV-related topics, questions, treatment, support, etc. on this side of the forum. Happy Thanksgiving greetings, Jokes-of-the-day, Candy Cane (Gift of Love), etc. belong on the Hepatitis Community Forum.
At the risk of being flamed....I'm with Mike Simon on this one, only not as strongly stated.
When I visit this support forum I'm looking for new and relevant information about HCV, treatments, support issues, drugs in the pipeline, how I may be able to help someone newly diagnosed, etc. Personally I don't like to wade through the other stuff to get HCV-related data. There's other sites on the web full of other stuff.
OK guys; flame away. I'm the Grinch Who Stole Christmas; Ate Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer with mashed potatoes & gravy; love John Lennon's music but can't stand "Happy Christmas (War is Over)".....
Below is MedHelp's explanation of the intent and use of the Hepatitis forums. Maybe this will help.
miked
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
The Hepatitis SUPPORT Forum is where you can post your questions about medical issues and research aspects of Hepatitis. It is the place to post information and participate in discussions about research studies and clinical trials related to Hepatitis.
The Hepatitis COMMUNITY Forum is our Patient-to-Patient Hepatitis Community Forum is where you can communicate and share support with other people interested in Hepatitis.
??????????????= wrong side of forum I guess - unless he maybe made his own candy canes for an visual in order to help you (how nice of him - tis the season).
But anyway nice that you shared this Hairtamer, but just so you know medical questions and things pertaining to tx are really only supposed to be on this side, so I guess that's why you received that first response...but again I could be wrong. Those might be candy canes that he posted and not question marks.
But anyway nice that you shared this Hairtamer, but just so you know medical questions and things pertaining to tx are really only supposed to be on this side, so I guess that's why you received that first response...but again I could be wrong. Those might be candy canes that he posted and not question marks.
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