Several years ago (I can't remember exactly how long it's been) in Relief Society (at church) around this time of year we were told a story. A wonderful story that warmed our hearts and made us look at a Christmas symbol in a whole new way. Afterwards a basket of candy canes were passed around with a copy of the story tied round it. I stared at it, recalling each reason the candymaker had for each characteristic he'd chosen. Suddenly, what had seemed to me to be such a whimsical candy made perfect sense.

It really is a neat story and I hope it'll make you smile, warm your heart and give you a new perspective of the odd shaped candy.

"The Story of the Candy Cane"

A candymaker in Indianna wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for 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 candymaker make 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 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 simply 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". I pray that this symbol will again be used to witness to the wonder of Jesus and His great love that came down at Christmas and remains the ultimate and dominant force in the universe today.

*Note to Heather: I got sidetracked and haven't yet emailed this to you. You just might want to copy and paste it from here. If you haven't been able to by Friday I will forward it to you.
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The eyes reveal what the heart would say.

..:: Remembered�����E�����Occuring ::..

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