Supernatural Friday: The Myths and Story Behind Candy Canes

I am reposting this as I saw a post about a principal in Nebraska (the state I was born in) who banned candy canes from his school as claiming they represent Jesus Christ. I posted the blog in 2014, so people (and maybe that principal) can see where t=candy canes might have come from and why. 

It is said that the candy cane came by a candy maker in Indiana who wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas candy cane. He took several symbols from the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy, which symbolized the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, It had to be hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and firmness of the promises of God. He formed the candy in the form of a “J” to represent the precious name of Jesus. It could also represent the staff of the “Good Shepherd.” 


Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker stained it with red stripes, using three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross.
  

These Jesus celebrating candies were then, the story goes, handed out to good children in the church or used as a form of identification among Christians when they were persecuted. But none of this is true! Candy canes were not invented in Indiana since the first reports of hard candy sticks (the precursor to candy canes) come from the 17th century.

 

Actually, white candy sticks were actually quite common at Christmas. One story says that they turned into J’s because one choirmaster bent them to look like a shepherd’s staff for children during the nativity scene. But there is no evidence that that’s true either. 

 

In America’s introduction to Christmas candy canes can be traced to August Imgard, a German immigrant who’s credited with introducing the Christmas tree to Ohio in 1847. The National Confectioners Association makes a claim that Imgard “decorated a small blue spruce with paper ornaments and candy canes.” But an article from 1938 points out a ceremony that a different kind of sweet was used.

 

Ornaments were made of paper, festooned in long chains by the younger members of the pioneer community. Kuchen baked according to a recipe sent from Bavaria by Imgard’s mother, hung upon the tree and served both as ornaments and tidbits. The cookies were colored with brown sugar and the family spent weeks baking them in quantities for the guests. Gilded nuts were other ornaments and inside the gilded shells were warm messages of greeting.

Red-and-white striped candy didn’t show up until around the turn of the century in America. 

 

Other myths concerning the candy cane:
A sweet treat made for children who behaved in church.
A way for Christians to identify each other during a time of persecution.

Whether how the candy cane came to be, now they are as much a part of the holidays as Santa Claus. 

So, please, quit stressing where they or songs came from or why, and just enjoy the holidays, whether you believe in Christmas, Hannakuh, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, Los Posadas, Diwali, etc....  The only thing you might worry about candy canes are cavities and if you're diabetic.

Supernatural Friday: Write the End of the Supernatural Story

What would we humans do if suddenly another species that have been living among us suddenly decided it was time for them to inherit the Earth? This species may be shapeshifters, vampires, or even demons as our ancestors called them. Whatever they may be, what would we do? Our militaries would be called out, of course, but maybe these beings would destroy many of the soldiers and sailors. Then they would come after the humans. City by city, humans might be massacred and buildings end up empty and silent, except for the monsters. Armageddon would be the cry on our lips. What do you think those few surviving members of humanity do against these beings of supernatural strengths and magic? Tell me the ending of this paranormal story if you wrote it by leaving a comment.

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Supernatural Friday: What If?

With my young cat maybe needing surgery and can not think of a post for my blog today since I do need towork on my latest nonfiction ghost book I am working on, I am leaving a scenario and hoping you readers will leave your answer in the comments for me and others to read.

What would we humans do if suddenly another species that have been living among us suddenly decided it was time for them to inherit the Earth?

This species may be shapeshifters, vampires, demons (maybe what our ancestors called them), even aliens. Whatever they may be, what would we do? Our militaries would be called out, of course, but maybe these beings would destroy most of the soldiers, sailors, pilots, and Marines. Then they would come after the humans. City by city, humans might be massacred and buildings end up empty and silent, except for the monsters. Armageddon would be the cry on our lips. What do you think those few surviving members of humanity do against these beings of paranormal strengths? Tell me how this story might end by leaving a comment. Please share this among friends so they too may leave their answer.

Halloween Week: Day 1: Trick-Or-Treat (Flash Fiction)

The below flash fiction belongs to Pamela K. Kinney and is copyrighted to her only, so please share the blog link to your friends and not take off this blog to put on yours, or on forums or websites. Thank you.

Trick-Or-Treat

By

Pamela K. Kinney

Janie and Bobby dressed in costumes, trudged up the sidewalk as they passed other similarly dressed children. It was Halloween, their favorite time of the year. When all children could go door to door, knock, and candy were poured into their waiting bags after yelling, ‘trick or treat.’ If the adult refused, the kids could play tricks on them and get away with it.

Janie and Bobby loved the treats, but they loved doing the tricks even more. They loved doing nasty, terrible tricks.

“It is tradition,” Mama told them. If the adults gave them candy, then fine and dandy, don’t do anything. But for that one who said, “No treats for you here, now go away!” they had permission to go ahead and do what their family had been doing since the early 1900s.

Janie and Bobby couldn’t wait. For the past couple of years they hadn’t been able to play any of their tricks, as every door they had knocked at the owners handed over candy, fruit, popcorn balls, tiny toys, and money. But when they woke up this morning, they sensed that this night would be different. They would finally be just like the rest of their family.

Nothing happened so far. Both of their bags laden heavy with the fruits of their labor, they stopped before the white picket fence that surrounded the yard of a pretty white Cape Cod home. It looked normal and so . . . suburbia.

This was it. They felt it. They would finally get what was owed them. They couldn’t wait.

Janie and Bobby tipped up their masks and looked at each other, shark grins flashing on their sweet, chubby faces. They pushed the gate open and wandered up the leaf strewn path to the front door. No Halloween decorations shown anywhere and no lit Jack-O-Lantern greeted them, just the closed door, painted a cheery blue.

They knocked and waited.

The door opened without one creak, and a little old lady stood on the other side. Her white hair was swept up in a bun and she wore a cheerful flowered print top and white pants. She peered at them, then blinked her eyes behind tortoiseshell glasses.

“Sorry,” she said, “but I forgot to buy candy to give out tonight.”

Bobby grinned. “That’s okay. We rather not have any treats. Tricks are oh so much cooler.” He tossed aside his bag and the sweets scattered across the front stoop.

He lifted his real axe. He had dressed as serial killer on purpose this morning. His sister was garbed as Lizzie Borden, her own axe gripped tight in her fist. She dropped her own bag and raised it high above her head.

The old lady stepped closer and smiled. “I know. I’ve been waiting for you, my dears. Human killers are not very smart. Not when inhuman ones have perfected their own bag of tricks for eons. My kind has been hunting their prey the hard way for centuries. Many still do. Not me though, I found a much easier way. Usually I decorate my place to attract regular human children on this night, but when I moved here and heard of the murders that been going on in this town for a very long time, I devised a different tactic.” She giggled. “It’s justice for the humans in this town after all and delivery food for me.”

Her face cracked and it split apart, falling to the floor. The rest of the body followed. Amidst the scattered pieces of the flesh, a giant shaggy wolf-like creature stood on clawed hind feet. It snatched both children to its breast. Bobby and Janie began screaming, but the sounds were cut off as they were taken carried indoors and the door slammed shut.

Bottled Spirits and Tribute to Professor Cline's Haunted Monster Museum-Natural Bridge, Virginia Winners in Preditors and Editors Poll

Found out that my nonfiction article, Tribute to Professor Cline's Haunted Monster Museum-Natural Bridge, Virginia, that was posted on Haunt Jaunts Blog  took second place in the P&E Readers Poll! Thanks to all who voted. http://critters.org/predpoll/final_tally_nonfiction.ht

And my short horror story, Bottled Spirits,  took eight place in the Horror Short Story division of P&E Readers Poll. http://critters.org/predpoll/final_tally_shortstoryh.ht

Interviewing Owner of Story Edits, an Editing Business

Today, my guest is Pam Roller, who started up a business, Story Edits, where she can help those writers make their manuscripts be the best they can be. Check out her answers as I interview her. And do leave her a comment if you have a question.


Thanks for inviting me to be a guest, Pam.

 1.) Why Story Edits?

With the changing publishing market, more and more authors are choosing to self-publish. The rush to get the book on the market without having to wait months or even years for a publisher to move along with it can be exhilarating. With self-publishing, the author takes complete control and a finished book can be put up for sale almost immediately.


However, the heady rush of seeing one’s book out there for sale can be overshadowed by writing that could be better. If a book is not edited well, it can get chewed up in reviews. Bad reviews can slow or even kill an author’s career. The author may lose readership, credibility, and money.


If the author is going the traditional publishing route, the manuscript needs to be in the same great shape as it would be if it is edited for self-publishing. All publishers, not just the “big six,” are extremely picky. Agents and publishers will look for any excuse to reject the work. Why not get the manuscript professionally edited before sending it out?


My main reason for launching Story Edits has to do with self-publishing, which is becoming the popular route for many romance authors. I want to see well-written books on the market. Authors who put up unedited, poor quality books bring down the reputation of all indie romance authors in general. On a side note, IndieRomanceInk on Yahoo.com is a wonderfully informative group for self-publishing authors.


2.) What are your qualifications?

Since I know romance, I edit romance. I’m published in romance fiction, have twenty years of experience as a writer, twelve years as an English teacher, and over two years as a former senior editor for a well-known, award-winning romance epublisher.


But if I’m a good writer, why should I have my work edited professionally?


Many authors are excellent wordsmiths or are leery of having their work edited by a stranger, but doing so welcomes a completely objective process. If I am reading an author’s work for the first time, I’ll catch things that the author missed. I have no interest in changing the author’s voice or intent, but instead I offer suggestions for continuity in plot, characterization, and structure as well as catch errors in grammar and punctuation.


While I cannot guarantee an author’s book will be a bestseller, I can help make it the best it can be. From an intense line edit to that final tweak and polish, I can help. And please note that Story Edits is not affiliated with any publishing house or agency. My only interest is the author and her manuscript.


I work with authors in all areas of romance: historical, erotica, contemporary, sweet, futuristic, fantasy, paranormal, time-travel, mystery, suspense, etc.


3.) How much does it cost?
I don’t charge by the hour because self-publishing romance authors need a tangible price in order to budget for editing, formatting, cover, promotion, etc. My price is 1½ cents per word (multiply word count by .015). This price includes two complete edits of your manuscript, before and after your revision.
All work is done electronically. The manuscript should be complete and ready for editing.


If anyone has questions, feel free to write me at storyedits@gmail.com or visit Story Edits.






Pamela, thanks again for having me guest on your blog.