[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”4517″ img_size=”full”][vc_single_image image=”4539″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]I love Christmas! I love the hustle and bustle. I love the cheer of it all. I love the cool air and the way it makes the cocoa taste a thousand times better. And I love me a good candy cane.
I was a pastor in a former life; and found myself falling in love with Christmas even more as I was able to tell the Christmas story to children. I was able to tell the story in a way that showed Santa as an image of Christ’s imagery and the innocence of babies while showing that Santa was a benevolent soul that gave more than he took.
I think that’s the joy in this season and the reason we are a community sharing this journey through space on our big blue marble.
And one of the best Christmas traditions is the story of the candy cane. But, I don’t think you know how the story of the candy cane is much like owning a home.
I know it might be a stretch, but it is worth connecting the two in this truth of the story of the candy cane.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]My wife, Holly, and I hung candy canes on our Christmas tree the first year we got married. Our dog, Tavarua, actually licked the ones on the bottom of the tree to a pretty sharp point before we realized she had a sugar fetish. The tree was spectacular. Greens, reds, whites, sparkling lights, and all the life it held in our living room was an image of the hope that winter would end and we would see new things in the year to come.
The legend of the candy cane says that a German choirmaster, in 1670, was worried about the children sitting quietly all through the long Christmas nativity service so he gave the children candy sticks to keep them occupied. Back in the 1600’s the canes were probably all white. The legend says that the white of the cane represents the purity of Jesus Christ. The story goes deeper still that in the early 1900s in the US the red stripes were added by a candy-making priest as a symbol for the blood Jesus shed when he died on the cross, and he put the hook into the cane as a symbol of a shepherd’s staff and the letter “J” representing Jesus.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”4509″ img_size=”full”][vc_single_image image=”4540″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/oyjaUMbfaac” align=”center”][vc_single_image image=”4523″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]As most stories go, there is a hint of truth and a lot of storytelling myth. Now remember that I used to get paid vocationally to be a pastor, so I’m always trying to tell the truth, and truth be told the candy cane and Jesus are connected, but they happened at different times.
Rose Eveleth at the Smithsonian Magazine says,
“We Don’t Know the Origins of the Candy Cane, But They Almost Certainly Were Not Christian“
What? Did she say “Not Christian?” How dare she. But this is the connection the candy cane has with homes.
The candy cane is an awesome representation of the steadfast love of God for his creation. It also is an image of Jesus’ purity and shed blood. It tells a story of shepherds standing watch over their sheep by night. The imagery is all in there, yet…it’s probably borrowed.
Yes, the pure white minty cane in the 1600s was invented as a sweet treat. The stripes and “J” were added. But the candy cane has always been just a sweet treat that the well-intentioned lovers of the Christmas story adopted as an awesome and truthful image of Jesus and all that he is in the Christmas story.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]When a builder builds a house, the design and work going into the building are purposed and planned. The building codes address how to build a safe structure so people will be safe living there. When someone decided to make a sweet treat that people would enjoy they followed a recipe and turned out a safe candy that would not harm people, and that people would enjoy.
Similarly, when a person buys a house and moves in, they develop a routine and use the house in a way that starts to tell their story. The pictures on the walls, the paint colors, the furnishings, and even the food that is cooked all tell a story that sinks into the fabric of the house to create the story of that family…the house becomes a “home.” Just like the church placing layers of tradition onto the candy cane, the item becomes more than the recipe that makes it, it becomes legendary.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4520″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”4508″ img_size=”full”][vc_single_image image=”4541″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Our family has lived in homes and apartments. We have camped in tents and RVs. We have settled in places, and been rather nomadic at times in our lives. But the one common thing is the story; the places we live, the people we share time with, the events we celebrate all build the story about who we are. In the act of living in a community, and in any type of dwelling, we are changed by the place and people as much as we can also change the place and people where we live.
The myths or truths in the story of the candy cane are not as relevant as the ability of the candy cane to tell a story bigger than itself. We get the great opportunity to celebrate a legendary Christmas this year with stories of people and events that will exist beyond the Christmas Day.
Have a great Christmas telling your story of family and faith in a way that makes it legendary.
Merry Christmas my friends. Be safe, and live well with those around you. Then each of us gets to be that small chunk of glue that eventually helps everyone to stick together in community.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]