{"id":49834,"date":"2025-12-21T18:35:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T23:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/?p=49834"},"modified":"2025-12-15T16:53:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T21:53:48","slug":"peppermint-candy-canes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/peppermint-candy-canes\/","title":{"rendered":"PEPPERMINT CANDY CANES"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Candy canes are part of the Christmas tradition and have been since1837.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first recorded ‘candy stick’ comes from 1837 at an exhibition in Massachusetts in the USA. They started as straight white sugar sticks and a few years later the red stripes were added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first time they are documented as being called ‘candy canes’ comes in 1866; and their first connection to Christmas comes in 1874. Early recipes had them as simply ‘sugar’ flavored. But we’re now used to them being flavored with peppermint or wintergreen and many other flavors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was in 1920, Bob McCormack, from Georgia, started making canes for his friends and family. They became more and more popular and he started his own business called Bob’s Candies <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A story, that’s rather nice but probably isn’t true, says that German a choirmaster, in 1670, was worried about the children sitting quietly all through the long Christmas nativity service. So he gave them something to eat to keep them quiet! As he wanted to remind them of Christmas, he made them into a ‘J’ shape like a shepherds crook, to remind them of shepherds, who visited the baby Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes other Christian meanings are giving to the parts of the canes. The ‘J’ can also mean Jesus. The white of the cane can represent the purity of Jesus Christ and the red stripes are for the blood he shed when he died on the cross. The peppermint flavor can represent the hyssop plant that was used for purifying in the Bible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A CANDY CANE STORY <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One dreary evening in the depths of November a stranger rode into town. He stopped his horse in front of a lonely storefront. The windows were boarded shut and the door was locked fast. But the man looked at it, smiled, and said, \u201cIt will do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All through the gray short days and the long dark nights of November, the man worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The townspeople could hear the faint pam pam pam of his hammer and the snish snish snish of his saw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They could smell the sweet clean scent of new lumber and the deep oily smell of new paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But no one knew who the man was or what he was doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mayor hoped he was a doctor, to heal his illness. The young wives hoped he was a tailor, to make beautiful dresses. The farmers hoped he was a trader, to exchange their grain for goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the children had the strongest, deepest wish of all. A wish they did not tell their parents. A deep, quiet, secret wish that none of them said out loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one spoke to the man. No one asked if he needed help. They just waited. And watched. And wondered. And wished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But one small girl watched and wondered, waited and wished longer than she could stand. And one snowy day she knocked at the stranger\u2019s door. \u201cHello,\u201d she said. \u201cMy name is Lucy. Do you need some help?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man smiled warmly and nodded. Then he opened the door, and Lucy stepped inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A long counter ran down the side of the room. Bare shelved filled the opposite walls. In the back were dozens and dozens of barrels and crates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCould you help me unpack?\u201d the man asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucy\u2019s heart sank at the sight of all the boxes. What if they were only barrels of nails and bags of flour?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But she removed her dripping boots and hung her coat on a peg. On stocking feet, she crossed the rough wooden floor and knelt beside a crate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlease. Open it,\u201d the man urged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slowly, Lucy put her hand into the box and pulled out an object wrapped in tissue. Round and heavy, it almost slipped through her fingers. Lucy trembled a little as she unwrapped it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a glass jar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucy gave the man a puzzled look. \u201cGo on,\u201d his nod said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So she unpacked another glass jar, and another, and another, until she was completely surrounded by jars of all shapes and sizes. Tall and thin. Round and squat. Jars with lids and jars without.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow,\u201d the man said, \u201cfor something to put inside.\u201d And he pulled over a huge crate stamped with a strange word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Lucy unpacked, her eyes lit up. It was candy. Her favorite candy. Gumdrops!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTry some,\u201d the man said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She popped one in her mouth. Now she could hardly unwrap fast enough. Peppermint sticks! Taffy! Lollipops! Chewing gum!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wide-eyed, she looked at the man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wished\u2014,\u201d Lucy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, I know,\u201d said the man. \u201cAnd here it is. Welcome to Sonneman\u2019s Candy Store. I am John Sonneman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon the small store was filled with candies, gleaming in their glass jars. Raspberry suckers and tiny lemon drops. Brightly colored jawbreakers and long tangles of licorice. Pink and white peppermints for church and butterscotch balls for company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, in the very last package in the very last crate, was a candy Lucy had never seen before, a red-and-white striped candy stick with a crook on the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is this?\u201d Lucy asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis,\u201d Mr. Sonneman explained, \u201cis a candy cane. It is a very special Christmas candy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d Lucy asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTell me,\u201d Mr. Sonneman said, \u201cwhat letter does it look like?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucy took the candy and turned it in her hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJ!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d Mr. Sonneman smiled. \u201cJ for Jesus, who was born on Christmas day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow, turn it over. What does it remind you of?\u201d Lucy turned the candy in her hand. She peered down intently. \u201cI know!\u201d she said finally. \u201cIt\u2019s like a shepherd\u2019s staff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho were the first to find out about Jesus\u2019 birth?\u201d Mr. Sonneman asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShepherds in the field,\u201d Lucy answered, \u201cwatching over their flocks by night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut Mr. Sonneman, what are the stripes for?\u201d Lucy asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man\u2019s eyes grew sad. \u201cThe prophet Isaiah said, \u2018By his stripes we are healed.\u2019 Before he died on the cross, Jesus was whipped. He bled terribly. The red reminds us of his sufferings and his blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut then,\u201d Mr. Sonneman continued, \u201cthe candy is white as well. When we give our lives to Jesus, his blood washes away our sins, making us white and pure as snow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat,\u201d he said, \u201cis the story of the candy cane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs it a secret?\u201d Lucy asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Sonneman looked at her for a long moment, \u201cIt\u2019s a story that needs to be told,\u201d he said. \u201cWill you help me share it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was now the depths of December. The town was whipped round by blizzard winds. For days, the sun hid itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But every morning, Mr. Sonneman and Lucy ventured out. They wore heavy woolen coats and bright hand knit scarves. And in their stiff, mittened fingers they each held a bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They went to every house is town. They traveled to every farm in the country. They knocked on every door. In every home, they told the story, they left a small gift, and they give an invitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, the sun finally broke through the clouds. And Sonneman\u2019s Candy Store officially opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mayor came, feeling better than he\u2019d felt in days. The young wives came, dressed in beautiful smiles. The farmers came, eager to trade grain for Christmas gifts. The children ran in dizzy circles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, their wish had come true. Yes, they had come to share in the opening of the candy store. But they shared something more. Something bigger. Something better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On that Christmas Eve, they shared the story of the candy cane. They told of the miracle of Christ\u2019s birth. The misery of his death. And the mercy of his love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you like candy canes? Have you ever found one in your Christmas stocking? Have you heard the story about candy canes? Let me know and I will give you a Penny For Your Thoughts or maybe a candy cane.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker Candy canes are part of the Christmas tradition and have been since1837. The first<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":48900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Nancy-Whitaker-1.jpeg?fit=318%2C364&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YQd9-cXM","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-27 06:43:29","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49835,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49834\/revisions\/49835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}