It is said that the first Christmas candy cane was made by a candymaker in the state of Indiana, USA, who wanted to make a candy that would represent God's love to us. In that simple shape, he incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ.

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 firmness of faith and the rock-solid promises of God.

The candymaker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the Good Shepherd, with which Jesus reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the stray sheep and fallen lambs.

The candymaker then stained the cane with four red stripes. First he added three small stripes to represent the stripes from the whipping that Jesus received before He was crucified--His suffering for the healing of our bodies. The single large red stripe was for the blood shed by Him on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

The candy became known as the candy cane--a familiar decoration seen at Christmastime, though few understand its intended symbolism. For us it can serve as a reminder of the wonder of Jesus coming down at Christmas and His great love that remains the ultimate and dominant positive force in the universe today.