candy canes - urban legend!

[Alana Suskin <asuskin...>]

This has all the hallmarks of an urban legend. If it's true, then why
don't they mention the name of the candy maker or the time when the
candy was "invented"?
I suspect there's a great deal of wishful thinking (or maybe the
Christian version of drashing) going on here.  And I definitely
wouldn't worry about whether or not the red represents blood. After
all Jews do a lot of post hoc explanations of relatively meaningless
details too. It then becomes true if enough people start believing it
 --so don't.

 Alana Suskin

 
>> 
>> 
>> > 
>> > ----------
>> > From:  robert wiener[SMTP:wiener (at) mindspring(dot)com]
>> > Sent:  Tuesday, December 15, 1998 2:54 PM
>> > To:  World music from a Jewish slant.
>> > Subject:  Candy Cane
>> > 
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: Reyzl Kalifowicz-Waletzky <reyzl (at) flash(dot)net>
>> > To: World music from a Jewish slant. <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
>> > Cc: wiener, susan <Susan(dot)Wiener (at) us(dot)schroders(dot)com>; 
>> > wiener, jack
>ralph
>> > <Jack_Wiener (at) dtc(dot)org>; gold, jacqueline sabina <gold (at) 
>> > tfn(dot)com>;
>> androphy,
>> > ronald l. <roandrophy (at) JTSA(dot)EDU>; androphy, ezra <era11 (at) 
>> > columbia(dot)edu>
>> > Date: Tuesday, December 15, 1998 1:34 PM
>> > Subject: RE: Holiday Music
>> 
>> > 
>> > http://www.familybible.org/CandyCane.html
>> > A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a
>> witness, so
>> > he made the Christmas Candy Cane. 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
>> > 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 Savior. 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 a 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
>> > dominant force in the universe today.
>> > 
>> > Copyright (c) 1997, 1998 by Rickard L. Sawyer and/or Family Bible
>> Church.  All
>> > materials on this website are protected under United States and
>> > international copyright laws and may not be reproduced or copied in
>> any form
>> > or by any means without the express permission of the copyright
>> holder.
>> > 
>> > (I believe that this use is fair use.)
>> > 
>> > Also see: http://www.crosswalk.com/advent/15.htm
>> >     http://www.erols.com/rpdigest/01792.htm
>> > 
>> > A somewhat different story is told at:
>> > http://www.bobscandies.com/html/the_cane_s_symbolism.html
>> > 
>> > For information on other Christmas symbols (such as the green and
>> red of the
>> > holly) see http://www.noeleternel.com/folklorea.htm
>> > 
>> > Perhaps someone out there is better at doing internet research on
>> such a
>> > topic and can find a more authoritative source.
>> > 
>> > But, whether these sites tell the historical truth or not, they do
>> tell us
>> > the significance of these symbols to believing Christians.
>> > 
>> > Bob
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > >I believe that there is
>> > >a Jewish tradition and a Christian tradition, but no
>Judeo-Christian
>> > >tradition.  That is the message of Hanukah to me.
>> > 
>> > I totally agree, but you don't need to get offended by the attempt
>> for store
>> > owners to be politically correct.  It's difficult for them and
>> things get
>> > confusing.   I have had to explain to friends that I don't send
>out or
>> > reciprocate Hanukah cards we receive because that is not a Jewish
>> tradition.
>> > My neighbors get Christmas cards and holiday greetings, but Jews get
>> nothing
>> > and I don't want anything either.  My kids get/got no Hanukah gifts
>> only a
>> > one-time giving of Hanukah gelt unless it's a Jewish book or CD.  No
>> ands,
>> > buts, or ors about that.
>> > There is the constant attempt to equalize Hanukah with Christmas in
>> America
>> > which is very offensive to me as a Jew, a holiday that celebrates
>the
>> > refusal to assimilate.   Why don't they make a fuss about
>Shavuous, a
>> > holiday that deserves a fuss, but most Americans haven't even heard
>> of it.
>> > Maybe that's what we can do, gather/build new repertoires for
>> Shavuous.
>> > Jews in Europe used to decorate the insides of their homes with
>> greenery and
>> > (sephardic tradition) roses the way non-Jews do their homes at
>> Christmas
>> > time, but this tradition seems to have been totally forgotten in
>> America.
>> > 
>> > 
>> > Reyzl
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > ----------
>> > From:  robert wiener[SMTP:wiener (at) mindspring(dot)com]
>> > Sent:  Tuesday, December 15, 1998 7:27 AM
>> > To:  World music from a Jewish slant.
>> > Cc:  wiener, susan; wiener, jack ralph; gold, jacqueline sabina;
>> androphy,
>> > ronald l.; androphy, ezra
>> > Subject:  Holiday Music
>> > 
>> > I hate going into record stores this time of year.  Even before
>> > Thanksgiving, Tower has a display of "Holiday Music".  The label
>> offends me.
>> > Maybe it is an attempt to be multi-cultural, acknowledge diversity,
>> and not
>> > offend non-Christians.  But I don't think so, and that is not the
>> effect on
>> > me.
>> > 
>> > In fact, "Holiday Music" is simply the politically correct term for
>> > "Christmas Music".  Enter the emporium, look at the CDs on the
>> wall(even on
>> > Manhattan's Upper West Side), and count how many Hanukah (or
>Kwanzaa)
>> > recordings there are.
>> > 
>> > This is no competition (and as our discussion of Hanukah recordings
>> shows,
>> > general record stores carry only a tiny portion of what is
>> available), but
>> > these displays (and the way Hanukah is depicted in the media) makes
>> it seem
>> > that we're all in this holiday season together, that it is something
>> that we
>> > have in common.
>> > 
>> > Perhaps some Jews feel left out of the seasonal festivities.  If so,
>> I think
>> > that's a good thing.  Hanukah is not the Jewish Christmas.  Even to
>> display
>> > Hanukah recordings prominently in a Holiday Music section elevates
>> it above
>> > the many more important Jewish holidays and thus demeans them.   I
>> hope that
>> > we as Jews don't feel the need to mimic Christian practices to feel
>> proud of
>> > our own heritage.  (One of my students was shocked when I asserted
>> that
>> > giving a present each night of Hanukah is about as Jewish as a
>Hanukah
>> > bush.)
>> > 
>> > Appreciate the aesthetic beauty of Christmas music, but be mindful
>> that even
>> > something as apparently innocuous as the red stripe of the candy
>cane
>> > symbolizes the blood of Jesus.  Even if Christians claim that they
>> are the
>> > "new Israel" that doesn't make us the "old Israel".  I believe that
>> there is
>> > a Jewish tradition and a Christian tradition, but no Judeo-Christian
>> > tradition.  That is the message of Hanukah to me.
>> > 
>> > Bob Wiener
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> > 
>> 
>> ==
>> 
>> Alana Suskin
>> Ms.Cat
>> _________________________________________________________
>> DO YOU YAHOO!?
>> Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>
>==
>
>Alana Suskin
>Ms.Cat
>_________________________________________________________
>DO YOU YAHOO!?
>Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
>
>
>
Alana Suskin
asuskin (at) uj(dot)edu