History of Candy Canes

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Candy Canes It was not long after Europeans began using Christmas trees that special decorations were used to decorate them. Foods, such as candies and cookies, were mostly used and straight white candy sticks were one of the confections used as ornaments. According to legend, during the 17th century, craftsmen created these white sticks of candy shaped like shepherds' crooks, as suggested by the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany. The candy treats were given to children to pacify them during Christmas ceremonies at the living creche, or Nativity scene, and the custom of passing out the candy crooks at such ceremonies soon spread throughout Europe.

In 1847 German immigrant August Imgard used the candy cane to decorate a Christmas tree in Wooster, Ohio. Around the turn of the 20th century, Bob McCormack of Albany, Georgia supposedly made candy canes as treats for family, friends and area businesses. McCormack's brother-in-law, Catholic priest Gregory Keller, would later invent a machine that automated the production of candy canes, eliminating the usual laborious process of creating the treats and the popularity of the candy cane grew.

In recent times, the candy cane's symbolism hold that the color white represents Christ's purity, the red the blood he shed, and the presence of three red stripes the Holy Trinity. While factual evidence for these notions does not exist, they have become increasingly common and at times are even represented as fact. Nevertheless, the candy cane remains a favorite holiday treat and decoration.