Who doesn’t love the sweet look of a striped red and white candy cane at Christmas-time???
And these adorable treats aren’t just mint to taste great, but also they are mint to teach us a lesson!
I couldn’t hold back a good pun. 
But, seriously. The Legend of the Candy Cane is a treasured story that I used to share every year with my 2nd graders – and now with my Happy Buddy.
First, you need to gather all your Happy Buddies together and read this FANTASTIC story…
The story tells of a Candy maker in Indiana who wanted to make a candy that would help us remember who Christmas is really about. So he made a 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 candy to symbolize the solid rock, the foundation of the Church, and firmness of the promises of God.
The candymaker made the candy in the form of a “J” to represent the name of Jesus. It also represented the staff of the “Good Shepherd”.
The candymaker then included red stripes. He used three small stripes and a large red stripe to represent the suffering Christ endured at the end of his life.
The candy cane is like an Instant Evangelizing Tool!
Don’t you LOVE this?!?!
Kids learn things so much better when they are brought to life with a story and visuals! That’s what makes the Candy Cane Legend so effective in sharing Jesus.
After I taught my students about the candy cane, I would have volunteers stand up and retell the story to me – pretty much a Gospel presentation in itself! I would then encourage them to get out into the world (their families, their neighborhoods, their grocery store worker friends, etc.) and share the Candy Cane message.
Do this project with your Happy Buddies and discuss people who you can take the Candy Cane Message to.
Then, simply buy a box of candy canes, print out the tag at the bottom of this post, attach to a candy cane, and VOILA!
After you return from your Candy Cane outing, fill up your Happy Buddies’ bellies with this delicious drink!
Candy Cane Cocoa
- 4 cups milk
- 3 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 4 peppermint candy canes, crushed
- 1 cup whipped cream
- 4 small peppermint candy canes
- Heat the milk until steaming hot – NOT boiling.
- Add the chocolate and crushed peppermint candy and allow them to melt and become smooth.
- Pour into Christmas mugs and garnish with whipped cream and crushed candy canes.
- Or add candy cane stirring stick to make it extra special.
Now, for your FREE Printable Legend of the Candy Cane Tag!
Just click, print out and enjoy!
Click Image for Printable
Another great book available about the Legend of the Candy Cane that is directed more for toddlers is J is for Jesus: The Sweetest Story Ever Told by Crystal Bowman (click image below to buy).
Click to Buy
Happy Candy Cane-ing!
I LOVE THE LEGEND OF THE CANDY CANE HANDOUT, FOR SOME REASON IT WOULD NOT LET ME PRINT IT, I DONT KNOW IF YOU COULD EMAIL IT TO ME, I WAS GOING TO SHARE IT WITH MY NURSERY KIDS THIS SUNDAY, I JUST FOUND YOUR BLOG AND LOVE IT. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.. MERRY CHRISTmas!!
Check your email! I sent you a response!
Also, try doing a print PREVIEW first, put it in LANDSCAPE, and scale it to the right size. I hope this helps! Thanks for your sweet words!
copy and paste to your program! Merry Christmas
Thank you for making these printables!
I love this poem .I am using the printable for my friends and grandchildren’s Christmas .Thank you for making it available for printing.
Yay! Thank you for making your adorable printable available to print… It totally made our preschool craft so much more special!
Hi! Love the Legend of the Candy Cane, but it won’t convert PostScript to printable form. Can anything be done? I would appreciate your help.
And GOD BLESS YOU!!
Ann, make sure you have the latest form of ADOBE READER. My printables are always in pdf format.