The Christian Story of the Candy Cane

(Image by Meljens Designs - Coloured in Photoshop by Amanda Newton)

I'm giving this to my Sunday School class tomorrow...brings a different meaning to the candy cane...and we just thought it was a Christmas treat!

1.  The candy cane is in the shape of a shepherd’s staff.  Jesus is our Shepherd, and we are in His flock. 

2.  Turned over, the candy cane is a “J”, the first letter of Jesus’ name.  It is made of hard candy to remind us that Chris is the “rock” of our salvation.

3.  The red stripes on the candy cane represent the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for each one of us so that we can have eternal life through Him.  It also symbolizes Jesus’ stripes, or scars, which He got when He was arrested and whipped.  The Bible says we are healed (of sin) because He took those wounds. 

4.  The white stripes on the candy cane represent Jesus’ virgin birth and His pure, sinless life. 

5.  The flavoring in the candy cane is peppermint, which is similar to hyssop.  Hyssop is of the mint family and was used in Old Testament times for purification and sacrifice. 

6.  When we break our candy cane, it reminds us that Jesus’ body was broken for us, such as we do with the bread when we have communion.

7.  And, if we share our candy cane and give some to someone else because we love that person, we are sharing the love of Jesus.