These Christmas Candy Recipes Will Help You Sweeten the Season (2024)

FAQs

What's the most famous candy during Christmas? ›

A Christmas legend

There's some mystery surrounding the origins of candy canes because there are no exact records of their invention. One well-regarded story suggests that in 1670, a choirmaster in Cologne, Germany, gave out sugar sticks to the children as a way to soothe them during the long nativity ceremony.

It all started in 1670, when a kind choirmaster wanted a way to keep the children sitting quietly through a Christmas service. He made simple white sugar sticks into a “J” shape to resemble the crooks of the shepherds that visited baby Jesus, or so the story goes.

One of the oldest traditional candies eaten for special occasions like Christmas is marzipan. This almond-based confection dates back centuries, with origins in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Each region has its own uses for the sweet.

In 1847, he made a candy to symbolize Christ. The cane's "J" shape stands for Jesus; when turned upside-down, it becomes a shepherd's staff. The white color signifies purity; the red represents Christ's blood, shed for the world's sins, and three red stripes symbolize the trinity.

Or course, today, there's nothing more iconic when it comes to candy than the alternating red and white stripes of the candy cane, but, according to Schildhaus, for 200 years, before mass-production was automated, they came in just one color: white.

A common story of the origin of candy canes says that in 1670, in Cologne, Germany, the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral, wishing to remedy the noise caused by children in his church during the Living Crèche tradition of Christmas Eve, asked a local candy maker for some "sugar sticks" for them.

While it may not seem like the most romantic option, the useful gift of money is the most desired Christmas present in the United States this year.

What are the most unwanted Christmas gifts? ›

The most unwanted gifts people receive are diet plans, cufflinks and soap on a string. A poll of 2,000 adults found 75% receive up to seven presents each year which they'll never use — with friends, children and colleagues labeled as the worst present givers.

Come 13 days before Christmas, Icelandic children will place a shoe beneath their bedroom window in hopes of receiving something from one of the 13 Yuletide-lads. (Read: the Icelandic version of Santa Claus.) Well-behaved children will get little treats such as candy or chocolate stuffed into their shoes.

Others say they symbolize the colors of Christmas. Religious belief says the white symbolizes the virgin birth and purity of Jesus, while the red symbolizes the blood He shed on the cross for mankind. While they have a hook shape at one end, its reasoning is many-fold.

The large red stripe is for the blood Jesus shed for our sins on the cross (Eph 1:7). "In him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,in accordance with the riches of God's grace." The smaller stripes remind of Jesus' suffering and our redemptive healing (John 19: 1-30).

Top-selling chocolates and sweets. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the No. 1 selling candy brand in the United States, consisting of white fudge, milk, or dark chocolate cups filled with peanut butter. They were invented by H.B. Reese after he founded the H. B. Reese Candy Company in 1923.

State of play: Easter is the second most popular holiday for candy purchasing after Halloween, a Numerator survey of 5,132 consumers found. 92% of Americans who celebrate Easter do so with chocolate and candy, according to a report from the National Confectioners Association.