A Brief History Of The Wallace Candy Cane

A History Of The Wallace Candy Cane

The 2021 Wallace Candy Cane is just one of the many classic ornaments that we offer at Silver Superstore. This piece has been released annually for decades, but where did it get its start?

A Brief History Of The Candy Cane

The 2021 Wallace Candy Cane ornament in gold plate and enamel with red ribbon.
2021 Wallace Candy Cane

If a legend dating to 1670 is to be believed, the first candy cane was the brainchild of a German church choirmaster. Hoping to keep the little ones quiet during a reenactment of the Nativity, he asked a local confectioner to make what he described as “sugar sticks” for them.To justify doling out treats in church, the choirmaster suggested adding a crook at the top; with any luck, that would inspire the children to reflect on the humble shepherds in the scene.

This lovely story may have some basis in truth, but the first stick candies didn’t debut until confectioners competed for prizes at an exhibition in Massachusetts in 1837. The earliest recipe for a straight peppermint candy stick was published in 1844, and there’s mention made of a candy cane in an 1866 literary work. Candy canes as we now know them didn’t show up on Christmas trees until the early 1880s.

They’re still showing up today.

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