Is the Christmas candy cane a religious symbol? Fact Check

Rumours claim that the Candy Cane, the recognisable peppermint candy item that we instantly associate with Christmas time, has its roots in the Christian faith.

Depending on what variant you come across, you may have heard either that

– The candy cane was created in Germany by a church choirmaster as a way to treat choirboys, and that the white represents the purity of Christ and the shape represents the crooks used by shepherds who visited Jesus.

– That the candy was created in Indiana, the white representing the sinless nature of Christ, the red representing his blood and the shape representing the letter J, for Jesus.

Examples for each claim as they appeared online can be seen below –

Church history records that in 1670 the choirmaster at Germany’s Cologne Cathedral was faced with a problem that still challenges parents, teachers, and choir directors today. In ancient Cologne, as well as in thousands of churches today, the children in the choir often grew restless and noisy during the long services. He sought out a local candy maker, and after looking over the treats in his shop, the music leader paused in front of some white sweet sticks. Yet the choirmaster wondered if the priests and parents would allow him to give the children in his choir candy to eat during a church service. The choirmaster asked the candy maker if he could bend the sticks and make a crook at the top of each one. The candy would not be just a treat; it would be a teaching tool. The choirmaster decided that the candy’s pure white color would represent the purity of Christ. The crook would serve as a way for the children to remember the story of the shepherds who came to visit the baby Jesus. The shepherds carried staffs or canes, and with the hook at the top of the stick, the candy now looked like a cane.

A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols from the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ.
He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and firmness of the promises of God.
The candymaker made the candy in the form of a “J” to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the “Good Shepherd” with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray.
Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.
Unfortunately, the candy became known as a Candy Cane — a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the meaning is still there for those who “have eyes to see and ears to hear.” Every time you see a Candy Cane, remember the Wonder of Jesus and His Great Love that came down at Christmas, and that His Love remains the ultimate and dominant force in the universe today.

 
A tell-tale sign as to whether we know about the true origin of something or not is often exposed by the existence of contradicting anecdotal tales.

And contradicting tales is exactly what we have here. Different stories that all claim to reveal the true meaning or origin of the object in question, yet all fail to provide any reputable source or evidence, and instead expect us to take them at face value.

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Despite the former tales assertion that a choirmaster was the architect behind the festive candy, and that this is documented in 1670 in “church history”, no such documentation actually exists – or at least has been shown to exist. And references to “candy canes” or there visual depictions do not go as far back as 1670, rather the first references to candy canes are traced back to the 19th century, with a recipe for “peppermint candy” being published in 1844 in “The Complete Confectioner”, though with no J shape.

Candy canes became popular during the early 20th century, coming from Europe to America, but by then had already taken their traditional J shape and red and white colours as we know them today. The company Bob’s Candies are often credited with giving them national popularity in North America, and incidentally came up with the automated process of turning the candy canes into the famous J shape using a machine created by Father Harding Keller, a Catholic priest.

Of course candy canes had already been this J shape for some time, albeit the product of manual labour. So while religion appears to have played either little or an unknown part into the creation of the candy cane, it did help perfect its production at least.

As such, the true origin of candy canes, and why they have their J shape, is simply not known.