Year in the life of Dez...day 36

Traditions at Christmas...

I asked Jack today what his favorite part of Christmas has been so far. His initial answer was a shrug with a hummed "I don't know". Now how many of you just hummed that to yourself?

So I started naming some of our traditions off to him and he really perked up when I said candy canes. He ate almost every one off our tree.

Now if you look at candy canes these days there are so many different kind. I picked up the "Sweet Tart" ones to mix it up a bit. They were these fun bright colors with bright colored stripes. They tasted like sweet tarts and were surprisingly good. Jack really thought so.

Some people don't know the story behind candy canes. So I thought I'd research it a tiny bit so I could get the story right.

(story according to: http://www.kidtokid.org/candycanestory.html)

A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would remind people of the true meaning of Christmas; so he made the candy cane to incorporate 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 Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God.

The candy maker then shaped his cane into the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to the earth as Savior. It could also represent the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He reaches down to to reclaim the fallen lambs who, like sheep, have gone astray.

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

So... now you know the story I have always heard about them. Now, that isn't to say that the first candy canes were made by this Indiana candy maker. Candy canes date back pretty far...the thing the Indiana guy did was make them based on biblical principals. The way they described candy canes being back "back in the day" seemed like hard tedious work...I can only imagine that they had to be incredibly appreciated and expensive. Not like the candy canes of today.

So, where my "sweet Tart" candy canes may not have the biblical reference behind them, they are good and very much enjoyed in my house. I will eat these bright colored, sweet tasting bits of happiness and think about the sacrifice that the Lord gave for me. God, is good...just like sweet tart candy canes.