Holiday Activities #2

This afternoon I helped the little boys make Christmas candy canes. They were simple and look great, but I can't guarantee that they will taste nice, as they are made out of marzipan; only Mum, Jordan and Lily like them!

Marzipan Canes

To make about four canes, you will need:

90g (31/2oz) "white" marzipan cut from a block

red food dye

Cut the marzipan into three pieces of the same size. Then, cut two of the pieces in half and, using your fingers, roll them into sticks.

Put the third piece of marzipan in a bowl. Add three drops of red food dye. Mix it in with your fingers until the marzipan is red all over. Cut the red marzipan into a thin stick that is about three times as long as your middle finger.

Starting at one end, wind a red stick around a white one. Do this with the rest of the sticks, making three more striped sticks.

Roll the sticks on a clean work surface to make them smooth. Then, bend the end of each one into a curve to make a cane.

A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be witness for Jesus, 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 sinless nature of Jesus.

Hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the Foundation of the Church and firmness of the promises of God.

The candy maker made this candy in the form of a "J" to represent this precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It also represents 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 scourging Jesus received by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ at the cross so we could have the promise of eternal life.

Sadly, the candy became known only as "the candy cane" and its original meaning has been lost.