he legend of the Candy Cane begins in Cologne, Germany around 1670. The choirmaster of the Cathedral had the idea of handing out 'sugar sticks' to keep the children quiet during the long Christmas Eve service, and he bent to sticks to imitate the shepherds crook, a symbol of the Bishop. At the time the 'canes' were completely white and did not have any flavoring.

As Christmas became a more "family" oriented holiday in Europe, people all over the world began to decorate more and more for the holidays. The all-white candy canes were a natural to be used as ornaments on Christmas Trees, and they often were used as decorations in other ways.

The first reference to the Candy Cane in America comes from the 1840s where it was reported that a German American immigrant decorated his house in Wooster, Ohio. Once again the canes were described as 'pure white'.

Exactly when the canes developed their familiar red and white stripes no one knows for sure. In all pictures from the 19th Century, the canes are pure white. In pictures taken after 1900 the strips were present. It is also believed that around that time spearmint and wintergreen flavoring was added to the Candy Cane.

Sources for the History of the Candy Cane:

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blchristmas.htm
http://www.bobscandies.com/symbolism.html