History Of The Candy Cane
In the late 1880's a candy maker in Indiana wanted to express the meaning of Christmas through a symbol made of candy. He came up with the idea of bending one of his white candy sticks into the shape of a cane and incorporating several symbols of Christ's love and sacrifice.
First, he used a plain white peppermint stick. The color white symbolized the purity and sinless nature of Jesus.
Next, he added three small stripes to symbolize the pain inflicted upon Jesus before His death on the cross. He added a bold stripe to represent the blood Jesus shed for mankind.
When looked at with the crook on top, it looks like a shepherd's staff, because Jesus is the Shepherd of man. If you turn it upside, it become the letter "J", symbolizing the first letter in Jesus' name.
The candy cane serves as a lasting reminder of what Christmas is really all about.