What do Candy Canes and Christmas have in common?
It is a special moment when you get to eat a candy cane during the Christmas season. Have you ever wondered “What do a candy canes and Christmas have in common?”
In the late 1600’s a choir director handed out candy sticks to his young singers to keep them quiet during a choir nativity performance. He had the candy sticks bent into hooks to remind the kids of the shepherds that carried shepherd hooks at the Nativity. The Shepherds were said to be the first one to worship the newborn Jesus in Luke chapter 2. The shepherd’s hooks or better known as “crooks”, were objects commonly used by shepherds to protect and guide their sheep around the fields to graze.
Candy canes were designed to remind us of the birth of Jesus and the worship of Jesus in Luke chapter 2. Over the years, others have sought to add to the tradition of the candy cane. Some have pointed out that the candy cane is shaped in the letter “J” to remind us of Jesus. Some have said the candy cane is hard like a rock to point out that Jesus should be our rock. The original candy cane was all white. It was created white to illustrate how Jesus is perfect and pure. By the early 1900’s, people began to add red stripes to the candy cane to remind us that because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. The combination of white and red reminds us that Christ’s blood can cleanse us of our sin. Today, if you look hard enough, some stores sell candy canes that contain three red stripes. The addition of two more stripes was intended to remind us of the Trinity.
Further Devotional Thoughts:
Luke 2:8-20 tells the story of the shepherds at Jesus’s Birth. Take time to read the story.
Candy Canes were first invented to remind us of the shepherds that worshiped Jesus. The Bible also calls Jesus a shepherd. Read Psalm 23 and John 10:10-11 and answer the question “How does Jesus remind us of a shepherd?”
Why is the candy cane shaped in the letter “J”?
How do Isaiah 1:18 and Hebrews 10:12 remind us of the Candy Cane?
The Candy Cane is hard like a rock. Based on Psalm 18:2 and 1 Corinthians 10:4 who is our rock?