Candy Canes

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First Period Day A

History of the Candy Cane

The origin of the candy cane goes back

over 350 years, when candy-makers both

professional and amateur were making

hard sugar sticks. The original candy was

straight and completely white in color.

The legend goes, a choirmaster in Cologne

Cathedral, in Germany in the late 17th

century bent the plain white candy into the

familiar “J” shape to symbolize a shepherd’s

staff.

These shepherd staff candies were given to

young children during the very long

traditional Christmas Eve Mass, to keep them

silent.

America’s introduction to the candy

canes is often traced to August

Imgard, a German immigrant who’s

credited with introducing the

Christmas tree to Ohio in 1847.

The National Confectioners

Association, stated Imgard

“decorated a small spruce with paper

ornaments and candy canes.”

About fifty years later the first red-

and-white striped candy canes

appeared. No one is specifically

credited for the invention of

stripes, but Christmas cards prior

to the year 1900 showed only all-

white candy canes . . .

Christmas cards after 1900 showed illustrations of

striped candy canes.

In 1919 in Albany, Georgia, Bob McCormack began making candy canes for local children.

Chicago confectioners the Bunte Brothers

filed the one of the earliest patents for candy

cane making machines in the early 1920s.

In the early days of candy making, the canes had to

be bent manually in order to create their 'J' shape,

many were broken during this process.

Bob McCormack's brother-in-law, Gregory Harding

Keller, who spent his summers back home working

in the candy factory. Invented a machine to bend

the candy.

Keller patented his invention, the Keller Machine which automated the process of twisting soft candy into spiral striping and then cutting them into precise lengths as candy canes.

Almost simultaneously, Bob and his eldest son, Bob Jr., developed a new packaging device that wrapped and sealed the candy canes in moisture-proof plastic wrappers

The traditional the flavor of a candy cane is peppermint, however, more recently candy canes are being made in a variety of other flavors and colors.

Nearly 2 billion candy canes will be sold in the four weeks before Christmas and Hanukkah.

National Candy Cane Day is December 26th!

Works CitedGoldstien, Laura. "The History of the Candy Cane." The History of the Candy Cane. Name Portrait by Cindy. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://www.noelnoelnoel.com/trad/candycane.html>.

Hiskey, Daven. "The Origin of the Candy Cane." Gizmodo. Gawker Media. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://gizmodo.com/the-origin-of-the-candy-cane-1482189978>.

Whipp, Deborah. "The History of the Candy Cane." Altogether Christmas Traditions:. All Together Christmas. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. <http://www.altogetherchristmas.com/traditions/candycane.html>.