# Origin of candy canes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 21, 2002, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146 "2002-12-21T01:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![beagle1971](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b19c9b/32.png) [@beagle1971](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagle1971)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2002, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/1 "2002-12-21T01:05:30Z")
OK, I searched the forums and the archive, but I didn’t find a post addressing this specifically. I’ve received more than once a story proclaiming the “true story of the candy cane,” saying it was designed as a christian symbol. So, is this true, or is it as Tom and Ray of Car Talk say, “boooooogus”? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2002, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/2 "2002-12-21T01:15:28Z")
[Bogus.](http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/candycane.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/3 "2025-04-10T14:21:12Z")
Reviving this zombie because I ran across a new - albeit equally dubious - story for the origin of the candy cane. According to this [1934 comic strip](https://scontent-ord5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/490180810_10160796923280918_3516418698702638363_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p552x414_tt6&_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=aa7b47&_nc_ohc=KTSe_dW-dVYQ7kNvwHYUd73&_nc_oc=AdkX-Ye742Iq9rtgTJR-k_MRBxIZAHZ88hDcgnfAJk8XIq4a_vfSW4DxN99T6x1EtaDPpioqITqJYqlCdkPD06LU&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-1.xx&_nc_gid=Xzba9MdvsTlgml70UoeUrw&oh=00_AfEPg2IMWj84NqlODTNpGczMtKJcPWp-QyFMe2r2XW22hw&oe=67FDB6FB): > European people once carried hollow glass walking sticks filled with colored sweetmeats, hoping that witches desiring to injure them would stop to assort all the separate candies and so not attempt it. The modern striped candy cane grew out of this practice. This is even less plausible than the Christian symbolism story. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/4 "2025-04-10T14:41:08Z")
The hell? Note that glass canes do exist. A rather magnificent one shows up on an episode of Antiques Roadshow#. The owner does not know what the cane was used for. The expert informs him that glass canes were used to absorb all the bad luck in a home and then taken outside and cleansed of bad luck. I don’t know if that is true. It certainly sounds plausible. I have seen a few glass canes for sale at antique shops. The cheapest one was over a hundred dollars. I also strongly prefer a cane that does not break into many pieces if it so much as falls over. #The values of antiques and collectables on the show are often way off. The facts and history are generally accurate. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/5 "2025-04-10T15:23:50Z")
I’d think candy sticks with twisted different colored hard candy were made first. Seems like once those are being made it’s easy to bend a crook in them to make a cane, maybe just for use as decorations. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/6 "2025-04-10T15:51:56Z")
According to the Snopes article linked to above, there were early examples of twisted color candy sticks and plain white cane-shaped candy sticks. I would assume both were designed to attract customer attention. And at some point in the mid-19th century, some candy makers began combining the two ideas. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/7 "2025-04-10T17:22:19Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > The expert informs him that glass canes were used to absorb all the bad luck in a home and then taken outside and cleansed of bad luck Sensible. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/8 "2025-04-10T17:24:48Z")
I know it makes no sense. However, it does strike me as something people would actually do. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/9 "2025-04-10T17:26:58Z")
I wasn’t knocking what you wrote. Just getting sarcastic on folks of yore. So silly to use glass when everyone knows only ancient teakwood containers can safely transport evil spirits through doorways. Seperately— Colored sweetmeats? What? Like, you dye them for Easter and have sweetmeat hunts for the kids? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/10 "2025-04-10T17:30:16Z")
Makes sense for glass canes because cleaning candy makes a mess. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/11 "2025-04-10T17:33:35Z")
Oh, sorry. I wasn’t sure whether you were making a joke because you accepted it as true or because you thought it was false. It has not been a great year so far. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/12 "2025-04-10T17:41:26Z")
I had assumed(yeah, we all got assumptions), the candy maker of yore had made candy sticks. Next morning he comes down to “Ye Olde Sweet Shop” and finds all his candy drooped over. So he displays it. And it becomes a thing. Ba da bing! ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/13 "2025-04-10T17:44:58Z")
I doubt this. I have seen footage of candy canes being made. You need to bend them immediately after the liquid candy solidifies and forms into sticks. There is a very short period during which they remain soft and pliable. Unless you were joking and I missed it again. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/14 "2025-04-10T18:07:59Z")
I was joking. But the nature of sugary treats is, add a bit of warmth and things get soft. Haven’t you ever had a jolly rancher or lollypop stuck to your carpeting? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/15 "2025-04-10T18:13:51Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I was joking. Oh, Sorry. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Haven’t you ever had a jolly rancher or lollypop stuck to your carpeting? Shockingly, I have not. This is probably only because I dislike Jolly Ranchers and rarely buy lollypops. But, I understand what you mean. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/16 "2025-04-10T19:00:16Z")
I think solid glass canes would be rigid enough (though obviously brittle) but hollow walking sticks filled with “colored sweetmeats”? I think they would be much too delicate. And why? A hollow wooden or metal stick would be so much easier. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/17 "2025-04-10T19:18:51Z")
Yeah. I have seen and very carefully held glass canes. They can at least support their own weight. You would need to make the sides of a hollow glass walking stick very thick indeed. Otherwise, it would collapse into many pieces almost immediately after being picked up. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And why? A hollow wooden or metal stick would be so much easier. I’m guessing (honestly just a hunch) the idea was that witches had to actually see the candy to be warded off. It would still be a whole lot easier to do with a sort of lattice work wooden or metal walking stick. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/18 "2025-04-10T19:24:35Z")
Here’s an example of a Witch Cane. No mention of candy (and it’s a solid glass rod) [witch cane; walking stick - Horniman Museum and Gardens](https://www.horniman.ac.uk/object/object-68935/) ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/19 "2025-04-10T19:27:55Z")
Thanks! From the commentary on that page- > [@](#): > > Witch canes or witch walking sticks were often placed in a bedroom between the bed and the fireplace in order to absorb the evil spirits that caused disease, particularly the ague (malaria). They had to be cleaned carefully each morning to remove any evil that had attached itself to them and to break one would certainly cause bad luck. . . So the guy on Antiques Road Show was more or less correct ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2025, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146/20 "2025-04-10T19:42:01Z")
I clicked a link to ‘four ways to ward off witches’. The image and text for the first two display properly. The image and text for the second two keep fading in and out. Is anybody else having this problem? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-candy-canes/144146.md?page=2)