Legend Of The Candy Cane

He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy.
White to symbolize the Virgin birth and the
sinless nature of Jesus; and hard to symbolize the
Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and
firmness of the promises of God.

The candymaker made the candy in the form of a "J"
to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came
to earth as our Saviour. It could also represent
the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He
reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift
out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have
gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the
candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used
three small stripes to show the stripes of the
scourging Jesus received by which we are healed.
The large red stripe was for the blood shed by
Christ on the cross so that we could have the
promise of eternal life.

Unfortunately, the candy became known as the candy
cane - a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas
time. But the meaning is still there for those
who "have eyes to see and ears to hear." I pray
that this symbol will again be used to witness TO
THE WONDER OF JESUS AND HIS GREAT LOVE that came
down at Christmas and remains the ultimate and
dominate force in the universe today.