The Legend of the Candy Cane:
A candy-maker in Indiana wanted
to
make a candy that would be a witness,
so he made the Christmas Candy
Cane.
He incorporated several symbols
from the birth, ministry, and death
of Jesus Christ.
He began with a stick of pure
white,
hard candy. White to symbolize
the Virgin Birth and the sinless
nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize
the Solid Rock,
the foundation of
the Church, and firmness of the
promises of God.
The candy-maker made the candy
in the
form of a "J" to represent the
precious name of Jesus, who came
to earth as our Savior. It could
also represent
the staff of the
"Good Shepherd"
with which He reaches 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 candy-maker 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 Jesus 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 meaning is still there for
those who "have eyes to see and
ears to hear."
Every time you see a
Candy Cane,
remember the Wonder of Jesus and
His Great Love that came down at
Christmas, and that His Love remains
the ultimate and dominant force in
the universe today.
The custom of sending Christmas
cards caught on because at that
time in England one could mail
greetings for only a penny each.
From those early beginnings, the
exchange of Christmas cards has
grown to astonishing proportions.
In 1915, Hallmark introduced their
first Christmas cards.
Albert suggested to his parents
that
they begin making electric lights
for Christmas trees.
They had lots of bulbs on hand,
and it would be
much safer than
using candles.
The Sadacca's thought Albert
had a
good idea,
but only one hundred
strings of electric Christmas tree
lights sold in the first
year. After
Albert thought of painting the bulbs
red, green, and other
colors instead
of using plain glass, business
picked
up sharply. Albert became the
head of a multi-million dollar
company.
The first American Christmas
tree "lot"
was set up in New York. In 1851 trees were
hauled from the
Catskills and brought
to the cities, where they were sold
during the holiday season.
The oldest artificial Christmas
trees
date back to the late 1800s and were
made of green raffia or dyed
goose feathers.
In 1930, a British based Addis
Housewares Company created the first
artificial Christmas tree made from brush
bristles. They were pine-like branches
that were less flammable and could
hold heavier decorations.
In 1880 Woolworths first sold
manufactured Christmas Tree
ornaments.