We have a book titled, The Candymaker's Gift: The Inspirational Legend of the Candy Cane by David and Helen Haidle. It tells the story of a candymaker who wants to give a special gift to his granddaughter and her friends for Christmas, one that focuses on the true gift of Christmas. So, he makes a new candy.
It is:
White because Jesus is the Holy, sinless Son of God.
Hard because Jesus is our rock.
Peppermint to remind us of the gift of spices from the wise men.
Shaped like a cane to represent the shepherd's staff, a reminder that Jesus is our "Good Shepherd"
(and though it isn't mentioned in the book I would say to remind us that the shepherds are the first people the angels told the Good News to).
Shaped like a "J" to stand for Jesus, our Savior.
Red to remind us that it was God's love that sent Jesus to give his life.
and
Striped to remind us of Jesus' suffering.
I thought it was really cool that his granddaughter ended up helping him figure out what it would look like while pondering what each attribute represented. Then, at the back of the book there are ideas for a Candy Cane party, Candy Cane celebrations, Candy Cane decorating, and a candy cane cookie recipe. We used to make these cookies to place on our church's Christmas caroling cookie gift plates.
You will also find the Meaning of the Candy Cane in the back of the book plus the Plan for Salvation.
So, how are we incorporating candy canes into our Christmas?
- We read the book and looked up the verses that talk about each of the different meanings of the candy cane.
- The girls will be getting candy canes in their stockings.
- We may play a game focused on the meaning of the candy cane on Christmas morning.
- We made a Birthday Cake for Jesus. I am still debating if we are going to eat it before our Christmas Eve Candle Light church service or with Christmas dinner.
Here is a picture of the almost finished cake. The candy cane on the top is the "J" in Jesus.
Here is the finished cake.
If you would like more details on how we made the cake and what is in it, please see this week's Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen post.
I love how the candy cane made the perfect J for Jesus! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThe Christmas carols are so pretty! I like getting snow on Christmas as well.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that! I'll never view candy canes the same way again!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out that book and read it to my kiddos next Christmas. I love the candy cane party idea. :)
Merry Christmas!!
My favorite part of Christmas is celebrating Christ's birth and being with family
ReplyDeleteI love all the beautiful colorful sparkly lights.
ReplyDeleteMichelle Tucker
Thank you for this wonderful post. I love Christmas and what it means. We always have a manger and we still have a real tree just about to the ceiling.
ReplyDeleteMarion