Candy cane Jesus is the reason for the season??

In My Humble Opinion
1

The Mrs. and I were driving thru the village near our home today, and saw a fairly common sign on the front lawn of a local home: Jesus is the reason for the season.

Well, the statement was common.

The sign, however, was not.

It was a 5 foot tall cross, and across the horizontal bar of the cross were nailed the rather outsized letters J, E, S, U, and S. Below it, on a single rectangular sign, nailed to the vertical bar, was the remainder of the statement.

Most atypical to me was the fact that the J in Jesus was a red and white striped inverted candy cane.

Now, as I stated, I’ve seen lots of similar signs around. But frankly, this was the first one I’d noted which really mixed the metaphors, as it were. The other signs showed Baby J in the manger, or similar motifs derived from the bible, or just delivered the written message without graphics.

I found it somewhat discordant, frankly. And the candy cane somewhat at odds with the signal it was trying to send. It sort of undermined the message, in my mind. Are candy canes part of the true meaning of Christmas?

So: Does this send mixed messages, or is it just me?

What say you?

2

I say you get your ass back there with a digital camera

3

Called it in one! Can’t say for sure, without the picture.

Suuuuure, it sounds like a horribly mixed message, and I doubt, strongly, that any photographic evidence could change that. But it might. Really.

Would someone calling himself Loki lie to you? I mean, really. Anyone who slithers along the hull is someone to take seriously. No wimpy hammer, there…

4

Well, it’s interesting, anyway. Lemme see. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and the candy cane represents the shepherd’s crook (at least according to preschool Christmas presentations), so obviously the candy cane J is supposed to remind you of that. :slight_smile: There, see, that wasn’t so hard.

My favorite scene in our neighborhood is the house that is completely lit up with electric trains, trees, presents, lollipops, trees, everything imaginable in every square inch of yard. Directly across the street is a large manger scene in muted colors with a soft spotlight on it. I can’t decide whether the neighbors are metaphorically sticking their tongues out at each other, having a good laugh, or if it’s a complete coincidence.

5

The Jesus/candy cane thing is out there. I found this:

The true meaning of the Candy Cane

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!

6

My reflexive response to hearing this phrase is the query, “For winter?”

Since they “obviously” (in their minds, because no other type of “season” matters to them at that time) mean the Christmas season, I agree that it’s a mixed message. That’s also why I can’t understand why some people campaign against stores/store employees using the general “Happy Holidays” reference - why promote crass commercialization of one of the holiest of Christian holidays?

7

Take a pic as directed and send it to the folks at www.jesusoftheweek.com.

8

I confess myself deeply frightened.

9

There’s been either internet glurge or mimeograph glurge posted to the internet for many years that claims that the candy cane was originally invented by an Indiana candy maker who wanted to remind people that Jesus was the real reason for Christmas. Different versions even go so far as to claim thaere are specific numbers of wide and narroew stripes with different symbolism.

It is nonsense, of course. Aside from the problem of inventing a candy shaped like “J” that is immediately hung upside down, there is the historical problem that candy canes were known in Germany before Indiana was settled by white folks.

Like the illogical claim that the Twelve Days of Christmas was written for Catholic kids to keep alive the memory of something or other during English persecution, (never mind that the Christian ideas that were purportedly expressed would have been quite comfortable even among the Puritan persecutors), it is simply Christmas season silliness.

10

Heh. Barb Mikkelson makes the same analogy to the Twelve Days of Christmas that I drew.

Wikipedia notes the German origin of the “cane.”

11

Aha! The candy cane was actually invented by Satanists!

12

Satanist. Dentists. Something like that.

13

Since the Candy Cane was inverted, doesn’t this imply the old Satan / Santa brouhaha (or is that brouhoho)?

14

Heretic! The candy cane was divinely inspired by God.

15

This one makes my brain hurt.

Really, though, IMHO, if you’re going to make a statement about Christmas this is the way you do it! :smiley:

16

Now HERE’S the real reason for the season. And all seasons, come to think of it.

(Courtesy of the Bad Astronomy Blog)

17

There’s a street nearby that has one house that always had a large cross covered with Christmas lights. I always thought that was a wrong message because the cross symbolizes his death and sacrifice. Christmas is to celebrate his birth. So it just seemed bad to celebrate his birth by reminding of of his death. And it was even more tacky to cover it with Christmas lights. Well, that house didn’t put up their cross this year but further down that same street someone else put up an even larger one. :rolleyes:

18

I can’t read that kind of thing (the Jesus/candy cane thing, not your response!) without thinking of the Brutal Death of Our Savior cookie recipe. You’ll see a link to it in the left nav frame.

19

So I assume you prefer the version of “What Child Is This?” that omits the line “Nails, spears, shall pierce Him through/ The cross be bourne for me, for you…”

As I’m sure will surprise no one, I tend the other way.

20

So I assume you prefer the version of “What Child Is This?” that omits the line “Nails, spears, shall pierce Him through/ The cross be bourn for me, for you…”

As I’m sure will surprise no one, I tend the other way.