Christmas Countdown ... 5... Candy Canes

Christmas Countdown ...5... Candy Canes

The first historical reference to a candy cane at Christmas goes back to 1670 in Cologne, Germany. The choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral gave out sweet sticks to children in the hope of quietening them during the Nativity church service on Christmas Eve. To justify giving out sweets, he asked the candy maker to add a crook to them to represent the staff belonging to the shepherds who visited the baby Jesus.
A German immigrant August Imgard allegedly took the idea of candy canes to America. The candy canes remained white. On Christmas cards after 1900, the red and white stripes which we now know, appear although the history of the stripes and the now traditional peppermint flavour is unknown.

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