There was once a shoemaker, who worked very hard and was very honest:
but still he could not earn enough to live upon; and at last all he had
in the world was gone, save just leather enough to make one pair of
shoes.
Then he cut his leather out, all ready to make up the next day,
meaning to rise early in the morning to his work. His conscience was
clear and his heart light amidst all his troubles; so he went peaceably
to bed, left all his cares to Heaven, and soon fell asleep. In the
morning after he had said his prayers, he sat himself down to his work;
when, to his great wonder, there stood the shoes all ready made, upon
the table. The good man knew not what to say or think at such an odd
thing happening. He looked at the workmanship; there was not one false
stitch in the whole job; all was so neat and true, that it was quite a
masterpiece.
The same day a customer came in, and the shoes suited him so well
that he willingly paid a price higher than usual for them; and the poor
shoemaker, with the money, bought leather enough to make two pairs more.
In the evening he cut out the work, and went to bed early, that he
might get up and begin betimes next day; but he was saved all the
trouble, for when he got up in the morning the work was done ready to
his hand. Soon in came buyers, who paid him handsomely for his goods, so
that he bought leather enough for four pair more. He cut out the work
again overnight and found it done in the morning, as before; and so it
went on for some time: what was got ready in the evening was always done
by daybreak, and the good man soon became thriving and well off again.
One evening, about Christmas-time, as he and his wife were sitting
over the fire chatting together, he said to her, 'I should like to sit
up and watch tonight, that we may see who it is that comes and does my
work for me.' The wife liked the thought; so they left a light burning,
and hid themselves in a corner of the room, behind a curtain that was
hung up there, and watched what would happen.
As soon as it was midnight, there came in two little naked dwarfs;
and they sat themselves upon the shoemaker's bench, took up all the work
that was cut out, and began to ply with their little fingers, stitching
and rapping and tapping away at such a rate, that the shoemaker was all
wonder, and could not take his eyes off them. And on they went, till
the job was quite done, and the shoes stood ready for use upon the
table. This was long before daybreak; and then they bustled away as
quick as lightning.
The next day the wife said to the shoemaker. 'These little wights
have made us rich, and we ought to be thankful to them, and do them a
good turn if we can. I am quite sorry to see them run about as they do;
and indeed it is not very decent, for they have nothing upon their backs
to keep off the cold. I'll tell you what, I will make each of them a
shirt, and a coat and waistcoat, and a pair of pantaloons into the
bargain; and do you make each of them a little pair of shoes.'
The thought pleased the good cobbler very much; and one evening, when
all the things were ready, they laid them on the table, instead of the
work that they used to cut out, and then went and hid themselves, to
watch what the little elves would do.
About midnight in they came, dancing and skipping, hopped round the
room, and then went to sit down to their work as usual; but when they
saw the clothes lying for them, they laughed and chuckled, and seemed
mightily delighted.
Then they dressed themselves in the twinkling of an eye, and danced
and capered and sprang about, as merry as could be; till at last they
danced out at the door, and away over the green.
The good couple saw them no more; but everything went well with them from that time forward, as long as they lived.
Along with candles, wreaths, stars, bells and
mistletoes, another ubiquitous decorative item for Christmas, which is
also a favorite with children, is the candy cane. In fact, the candy
cane is so popular that it is one of the most visible items in any
decoration, for Christmas or not. The candy cane is simple,
eye-catching, and what's more, it's tasty. Though candy canes come in
many flavors, the most popular and common flavor is peppermint and
cinnamon. Candy canes can be hung with colorful ribbons and can be used
to decorate almost anything, from an entire room to a cake or a
Christmas tree; they add a very playful touch to everything. And like
all other facets of Christmas, this J-shaped, red and white candy also
has an interesting story, legend if you may call it, behind it. As so,
the origin and symbolism of candy cane is steeped in myth.
The Legend
It is widely believed that the candy, which earlier was straight as a
stick, was given its distinctive J-shape by a German choirmaster. It is
said that during service one evening, the children were being very loud
and noisy, creating quite a ruckus and not paying any attention to the
choirmaster. To keep them quiet and still for the nativity ceremony, he
gave them a long, white, sugar candy stick. Since giving chocolates and
candies at church was considered sacrilegious, he bent these sticks at
one end to make them look like a shepherd's cane and thus, attached a
religious significance to them. In Christianity, Jesus is regarded as
the Good Shepherd and so, the staff is considered to be a sacred symbol.
The Staff also represents the shepherds who came to visit the infant
Jesus.
The candy cane became popular when, in 1847, a German-Swedish immigrant
in Wooster, Ohio, who liked candy canes a lot, decided to string them on
his Christmas tree as decorations. The idea soon caught up became quite
a fashion in no time. By 1900, candy canes, which were earlier only
white, came in red stripes, and with peppermint and cinnamon flavoring.
Of course, now it's a popular tradition everywhere.
The candy canes became a much sought-after Christmas-decoration item as
the 'hook' in the candy made it easier to hang them on the Yule trees,
and the unique shape made it an eye-catching attraction.
Symbolism
Traditionally, the only symbolism that was associated with the candy was
that of the shepherd's staff. But now, there is a modern allegorical
interpretation of the candy cane. It is said that since the candy cane,
when inverted, becomes J-shaped, it is a direct representation of Jesus
Christ. The white color of the candy denotes the purity of Christ while
the stripes represent His sacrifice and the whipping he received at the
hands of the Romans, the color red symbolizing his blood. It is believed
that even the peppermint flavor of the candy is so because it is
similar to hyssop which, according to the Old Testament, symbolizes
purification and sacrifice.