Candy Man

Welcome to Day Four of the 7 Days of Christmas, a fun week of stories, thoughts, and scripture leading up to Christmas Day. Just a little gift from me to you, dear BBFF (Blessed Blog Friend Forever). Scroll back to catch up on the previous posts!

“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God.”  (Luke 2:20 NIV)

To get into the spirit of celebrating the birth of the Christ-child, I bought a dozen candy canes to hang on one of my favorite decorations – a snowman standing with his little wooden arms extended like a clothesline.

Why candy canes?

Did you know that the candy cane was invented in 1670 by a German choirmaster who melted and bent white stick candies into the shape of a shepherd’s staff to amuse the antsy children in his Christmas choir during the long church service?

The custom spread throughout Europe and eventually came to America with a German immigrant in 1847, who decorated his Christmas tree with the all-white candies.

Sometime around 1900, a candy maker in Indiana wanted to create a Christmas confection that bore witness to the true significance of the occasion, so he added red stripes and advertised the associated symbolism:

• White: represents the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus
• Red: represents the blood shed by Jesus on the cross so we could have eternal life.
• J shape: represents the name of Jesus, as well as the staff of the Good Shepherd.

No one knows if this same candy man added peppermint flavor, but someone did at the turn of the twentieth century, and the rest, as they say, is history.

So who can really get you in the Christmas spirit this year? The Candy Man can!

Prayer for today:

Reason for the Season, Every time I nibble on a candy cane, make me cognizant of Your most precious gift this Christmas. 

 

*Excerpted from my 365-day devotional, Too Blessed to be Stressed: Inspiration for Every Day.

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