Top 25 reasons behind the origins of the candy cane

Question:
Why do you think the original candy cane was made red & white and was in the shape of a candy cane?

25. Red and white were probably the cheapest colors and the cane was probably the easiest for kids to hold.
Erin DiNorscia, Sophomore

 24. To look like a barber’s pole. They were first given out in barbershops.
Anthony Rowe

23. For the deers to eat & it was shaped that way to stick in the ground.
Katie McSloy

22. Red stands for fire & white for ice; it is a cane because it is sturdy.Stephanie Magness

21. Red & white because Santa is red and snow is white, cane shaped because the machine messed up making the candy.Natalie, Sophomore

20. Red on white makes it stand out and the shape of a cane adds a twist to a straight rod.
Rebecca Rogan, Freshman

19. Because the actual “pole” at the North Pole is red & white and it’s a cane to help Santa Claus to walk because he’s quite fat.
Rob Scully, Sophomore & Alex Chiaro, Senior

18. Santa’s clothes are red & white and since he’s so old he needed a fashionably unique cane, so we made edible duplicates.
Becky Bovaird, Freshman

17. The maker wanted to promote his new cane company in the US, but unfortunately, he ran out of the blue dye to make them more American.
Kenneth Roberts, Freshman

16. When Santa touches them they get red striped; they are cane shaped to go on reindeer’s antlers.
Liz Potts, Freshman

15. Red & white because they are the Confederacy colors and cane shaped because maybe the Confederacy wanted to play field hockey, who knows?
Juston Jones, Junior

14. I think the same guy who made up Santa Claus was on some hard drugs and needed a cane when he got old. Since he loved peppermint, he made his cane candy flavored and made it red & white so he could find it when he was all messed up of blurred vision.
Nadia Diboun, Freshman

13.  Back in the Stone Age they had very little candy so they would eat bloody Sabretooth rib bones; in the 1600’s they replaced the blood with peppermint stripes and in the 1700’s they replaced the bones with candy which led to the extinction of the Sabretooth Tiger.
Dean Owens

12. The red & white symbolize the two sides of the Cold War: The Soviets (Red) and the U.S. (White). The intertwining of these 2 colors symbolizes the constant struggle for world control and race for military superiority. The shape of the cane symbolizes a “crutch” that the world needed while 2 superpowers grew stronger. As the tension grew the more disarray the world seemed to be in. The candy cane is a strong Cold War statement.
Nathan Fernando, Sophomore

11. The Red Cross invented candy canes to cheer up old people with canes.
Justin Kadtke, Sophomore

10. Candy cane is red & white because of candy stripes at hospitals and it is in shape of a cane because canes help people.
Anonymous

9. Red stands for blood when the man fell down; White is the Light he saw when he died, and it’s a cane because he is old.
Ayalia Rom

8. Red & white for peace and love, cane shaped because half a heart..
Melanie Wolfe, Junior

7. It’s in the cane shape because if you put 2 together it forms a heart. It’s red & white to represent love. Crystal Wunderly

6. There’s some relation to Christianity, J for Jesus, red for the blood and white for purity.
Catherine McDermott & Laura Friole

 5. Red & white for the peace and good will of man & the blood on the cross. The cane is to hang for all to see.
Michael Bata, Sopho

4. White is for purification and cleansing and red is for the blood of Christ, and cane shape is for Shepherd’s staff.
Kyla Wallace & Edna Termilus

3. Red for Jesus’ blood, and white because he died for our sins and is holy. Cane is representative of the staff of the Shepherd.
Bonnie Cox

2. It is red and white for the stripes Christ bore on the cross; the cane upside down is the hook to draw men unto Christ.
James Apgar, Freshman

1. There was this elderly man who owned a candy factory and loved his grandchildren so dearly that he wanted them to know about his love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Since they were children, he had to think of a way to present the Gospel to them. What better way than create candy in the shape of a cane he taught to himself. Later he decided to put red & white stripes on it with 3 tiny little stripes going through it. Now when his grandchildren came for candy, he had a way to also present the Gospel. He would tell them the shape of the candy was in the shape of a cane to represent the letter “J” to stand for Jesus and when it is turned upside down to represent a Shepherd’s staff to take care of sheep for Jesus is the Good Shepherd. The red stripes on the candy represent the wounded stripes of Jesus when he was bruised and beaten to rescue us and the blood that Jesus shed on the cross at Calvary to wipe away all our sins while the white stripes represent the cleansing of our sins when we are covered with the cleansing blood of Jesus. The 3 tiny stripes represent the Trinity: God, the Father; God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. With just a candy cane the Gospel was presented to the children at Christmas time celebrating the birth of Jesus. Every time they ate a candy cane they could be reminded of what they mean to Jesus and how much he loves them. Amen! (True story answer!)

Voices on Campus
Idea by Benjamin H

Question and compilation
 by Ramesh C. Reddy

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