Rockingham Remembered
The Christmas Page
Look at the Candy Cane
What do you see?
Stripes that are red
Like the blood shed for me

White is for my Savior
Who's sinless and pure!
"J" is for Jesus My Lord, that's for
sure!
Turn it around
And a staff you will see
Jesus my shepherd
Was born for Me!
Many years ago, a candy maker
wanted to make a candy at
Christmas time that would serve as a
witness to his Christian faith.
He wanted to incorporate several
symbols for the birth, ministry
and death of Jesus. He began with a
stick of pure white hard candy;
white to symbolize the Virgin Birth
and the sinless nature of Jesus;
hard to symbolize the solid rock, the
foundation of the Church;
firmness to represent the promise 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.
He thought it could also represent
the staff of the Good Shepherd,
with which he reached 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 true meaning is still there
for those who have
eyes to see and ears to hear.