To the Editor:
Christmas time is filled with symbolism, and one of the sweetest symbols is the candy cane.
Where the legend behind the candy cane comes from is not clear. Some say it was a candy maker from northern Indiana. Others say Georgia, and still others say Germany. Whoever the first candy maker was, it’s clear that the confectioner wanted to craft an expression of his Christian faith.
As Christmas approached, he was inspired to incorporate several symbols of the birth, ministry and death of Jesus Christ into a special candy.
To depict the Virgin Birth and Jesus’ sinlessness, he decided to use a pure white base of hard candy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) The hardness would symbolize the solid foundation (“Upon this rock, I will build my church.” Matthew 16:18) of the church of Jesus Christ and the firmness of God’s promise.
Next, he designed four red stripes around the stick, three thin and one wide. One tradition says that the three red stripes remind Christians that they are healed by the stripes from the lashing Jesus received in his scourging. Another belief is that the three thin stripes represent the three elements of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The wide stripe represents the blood shed by Jesus on the cross of the crucifixion to atone for man’s sins and to enable man to enjoy eternal life with Christ in heaven. “By his stripes, we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
Peppermint, with its characteristic aroma and pungent taste, is used to remind people of the aromatic herb hyssop, recalling the psalmist’s plea: “Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7) Old Testament scholars suggest the use of hyssop not only for its pleasant taste but also for medicinal purposes. The healing is suggested by the belief that Christians are healed by Christ’s blood.
The candy maker then fashioned the red-and-white stick into a shepherd’s crook, calling on Christians to gather in the fold of the Good Shepherd. And the symbolism is so complete that, when turned upside-down, the crook becomes the letter J, for Jesus.
In the 1920s, Bob McCormack, a candy maker in Albany, Ga., began to make candy canes as a special Christmas treat for his children, his friends and local shopkeepers. Because of the intensive hand-making effort, production was small-scale. Then, in the early 1950s, McCormack’s brother-in-law, Father Gregory Keller, a Catholic priest, invented a machine to automate candy cane production. Packaging innovations by the younger McCormacks made it possible to transport the delicate canes on a scale that brought Bobs Candies Inc. to No. 1 in candy cane production.
Rev. Donald J. Barthelmeh, a United Church of Christ minister in Cincinnati, carried the symbolism one step further. He presented a children’s sermon about the candy cane every Christmas. He displayed a large candy cane as he talked about its history and symbolism.
As he finished, he broke the cane into pieces. He recited the lines from the breaking of the bread during Communion: “This is my body broken for you.” He then passed the pieces among the children and the congregation as a whole, just as Jesus’ body is broken in order to be shared.
“Just so,” he said, “our lives as good stewards must be shared. We come to realize as children of God and sharers of Christ’s life that only as we give, shall we live. Love came down at Christmas, all lovely and divine. Now in the season of Christmas we seek to spread that love among all men. One symbol is the shepherd’s crook, made visual … through the candy cane. It calls us to serve; its red bands direct us to a life of sacrifice; its essence of mint relates the tastefulness of those who share.
“We are also reminded that our life might be pure, made white by the sacrifices of the Savior circling ourselves and spiraling up into a life of love and peace.”
Barthelmeh passed away in 1982, but his message and the symbolism of his topic live on.
Rich Gotshall
Franklin
