Lately, I've noticed that you learn something new everyday if you slow down and listen for the echoes. What are echoes? Echoes are anything that you see and/or anything that someone says or does (including yourself) that causes you to stop and reflect. I first began learning how to hear "echoes" when we were told that our 10-month-old son was profoundly deaf. I noticed that his eyes spoke volumes because they represented what his heart was saying deep within. I've noticed that echoes are everywhere. I make it a point to be aware, and I choose to slow down and listen for them. In addition to deep and sentimental matters of the heart, if you recognize that you are a life-long student in life, you will learn interesting things everyday from interesting people.
The other night, my husband asked myself and my daughter and son if we knew the meaning behind the candy cane. We didn't - so he read the history to us from Wikimedia. I share it here with you. I also encourage you to listen for the echoes within you and around you in the eyes and actions of others.
The History of the Candy Cane:
According to a popular account, in 1670, in Coglogne, Germany, the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral, wishing to remedy the noise
caused by children in his church during the Living Creche tradition of Christmas Eve, asked a local candy maker for some
sweet sticks for them. In order to justify the practice of giving candy to children during worship services, he asked the candy maker to add a crook to the top of each stick, which would help children remember the shepherds who paid visit to infant Jesus. In
addition, he used the white color of the converted sticks to teach children about the Christian belief in the sinless life of Jesus. From
Germany, the candy canes spread to other parts of Europe, where they were handed out during plays reenacting the Nativity.
A recipe for straight peppermint candy sticks, white with colored stripes, was published in 1844.The candy cane has been mentioned in literature since 1866, was first mentioned in association with Christmas in 1874,and as early as 1882 was hung on Christmas trees. Chicago confectioners the Bunte Brothers filed the earliest patents for candy cane making machines in the early 1920s.
The other night, my husband asked myself and my daughter and son if we knew the meaning behind the candy cane. We didn't - so he read the history to us from Wikimedia. I share it here with you. I also encourage you to listen for the echoes within you and around you in the eyes and actions of others.
The History of the Candy Cane:
According to a popular account, in 1670, in Coglogne, Germany, the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral, wishing to remedy the noise
caused by children in his church during the Living Creche tradition of Christmas Eve, asked a local candy maker for some
sweet sticks for them. In order to justify the practice of giving candy to children during worship services, he asked the candy maker to add a crook to the top of each stick, which would help children remember the shepherds who paid visit to infant Jesus. In
addition, he used the white color of the converted sticks to teach children about the Christian belief in the sinless life of Jesus. From
Germany, the candy canes spread to other parts of Europe, where they were handed out during plays reenacting the Nativity.
A recipe for straight peppermint candy sticks, white with colored stripes, was published in 1844.The candy cane has been mentioned in literature since 1866, was first mentioned in association with Christmas in 1874,and as early as 1882 was hung on Christmas trees. Chicago confectioners the Bunte Brothers filed the earliest patents for candy cane making machines in the early 1920s.