Who doesn’t enjoy a sweet peppermint stick this time of year? Candy canes come in all sizes and, nowadays, all flavors. We put them on the Christmas tree and in Christmas stockings. They are everywhere! But why do we have them, and what do they have to do with Christmas?
According to CandyUSA, “Legend has it that in 1670, the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany handed out sugar sticks among his young singers to keep them quiet during the long Living Creche ceremony. In honor of the occasion, he had the candies bent into shepherds' crooks. In 1847, a German-Swedish immigrant named August Imgard of Wooster, Ohio, decorated a small blue spruce with paper ornaments and candy canes. It wasn't until the turn of the century that the red and white stripes and peppermint flavors became the norm.”
From The History of the Candy Cane by Laura Witcher Goldstein, “Many people have given religious meaning to the shape and form of the candy cane. It is said that its shape is like the letter “J” in Jesus’ name. It is also in the shape of the shepherds’ crook, symbolic of how Jesus, like the “Good Shepherd” watches over his children like little lambs. It is a hard candy, solid like a “rock”, the foundation of the Church. The flavor of peppermint is similar to another member of the mint family, hyssop. In the Old Testament hyssop was used for purification and sacrifice, and this is said to symbolize the purity of Jesus and the sacrifice he made.
Some say the white of the candy cane represents the purity of Jesus and his virgin birth. The bold red stripe represents God’s love. The three fine stripes are said by some to represent the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Others say they represent the blood spilled at the beating Jesus received at the hands of the Roman soldiers.”
Wikipedia informs us that “Peppermint candy with red stripes first appeared in the mid-19th century in the Swedish town of Gränna [1], and striped candy canes in the early 20th century.
In Swedish the candy canes are called polkagris (literally "polka piglet"). The aforementioned Swedish town Gränna is called the "polkagris capital of the world".”
Several years ago while visiting relatives in Sweden, I had opportunity to sample the wares of a Polkagriskokeri such as the one described in National Geographic Traveler’s Sweden Trip Planner: “Swedish widow Amalia Eriksson is rumored to have introduced polkagris, or peppermint rock candy, to Granna in 1859. Today Grenna Polkagriskokeri is one of about a dozen shops in Granna where visitors can watch workers boil, pull, knead, and twist the candy that is one of Sweden's most popular souvenirs.” From what I can remember, the candies were truly superior.
(Visit the Grenna Polkagriskokeri website for the scrumptious pictures, even if you can’t read Swedish (which I can’t) ).
