Helen Tyte

Candy Canes

In 1670, a choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany was fed up with the noises from the children during services. During their big Christmas worship he was determined to keep them all quiet, so he asked a local candy maker to make white candy sticks. He bent the sugar-sticks into canes to look like shepherd’s crooks to make them more festive. The red stripes and peppermint flavour were added later on, and they have become a symbol of Christmas.

What can we draw from the candy cane image?

White

Jesus was pure and holy; He was without sin. God washes away our sin.

In Isaiah we read ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow.’

Red Stripes

The red represents the blood Jesus shed for each of us; the stripes depict the scars on His back.

Again from Isaiah we read ‘But he was wounded for our transgressions, upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.

Hard

The hardness represents that Jesus as our “Rock”; if we build our lives upon Him, they will be secure and lasting

Luke tells us “It is like a man building a house who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built.”

Shape

The candy cane is shaped like a shepherd’s crook and we remember that Jesus is our Shepherd who watches over us and cares for us.

In John we hear: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

AND

if you turn the candy cane upside down though, it makes a J for Jesus!