Did You Know?

This week I want to look back on the origin of some things that symbolize Christmas and this season. I want to give some facts, but I have written a few fictional stories to bring hystory to life...I hope :) Just fun for me, this year. Don't feel pressure to read the story:) Hope you all have a wonderful week before Christmas.
Did You Know...Candy Canes.
Did you know that the first candy cane was created in the 1600s? It was plain white and shaped as a shepherd's staff. Made by a choir master to keep children occupied during the long Christmas Eve service. The stripes didn't arrive until the early 1900s and there is no set time or place that they arrived. One theory is that the "J" shape represents the J in Jesus, the white and peppermint is for purity of Christ, and His purification of our sins. The bold red stripe symbolizes our scarlet red sin and the three little red lines represent the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This story is my thought of one way they could have arrived. Enjoy!

Evelyn sat by the fire in her small home. Her long skirt dusted the floor as she rocked slowly. Forward. Creak. Back. Creak. Her knitting needles moved in perfect contrast to the monotonous rocking. The frantic clicking of the needles seemed to chatter like two Sunday morning gossipers.
Upstairs a deep bark-like cough came from her daughter, Grace’s room. The gossip of the needles paused and the rocker held still.
One minute. Two. Evelyn hadn’t realized that she held her breath until the horrible barking ceased and all fell silent again.
Tears burned quick and fierce, pooling beneath Evelyn’s hazel eyes. She titled her head back and focused on the mantel, strung with popcorn and holly, until the tears receded. If she gave in now, she would never stop wailing. The warm fire illuminated humble decorations around the room. Evelyn thought back on years of Christmases. Celebrations of the holiday with a loving husband and healthy, vibrant Grace.
John had been gone for two years, and it seemed this would be the last Christmas to make any memories with her 10-year old daughter. The same coughing sickness that had swiftly claimed the love of her life now seemed ready to snatch away her only child.
Her heart swelled with pride when she thought of Grace. A beauty. Soft dark hair, creamy skin, silky and warm to the touch. Bright brown eyes and sweet dimples accentuated by an ever-present smile. Even as sick as she was, Grace thought only of the God she loved and the mother she adored.
Just this evening she had tried to boost Evelyn’s spirits and suggested they make sugar sticks the next day.
“We can take them to the Browns,’ she suggested. “The children would love them.”
When Evelyn asked her before settling for bed what she would like for Christmas, her heart had clenched tight with sorrow and pride when her child spoke words wiser than her own thoughts:
”I want you to know that God is good, even if He takes me home to Him. I want you to be happy. I want to find a simple way to explain to the Browns and O’Malleys how wonderful it is to know the Lord. How sweet and pure it is to know Him. That’s my Christmas wish.”
Evelyn had kissed her goodnight and hugged her close. She lingered there, breathing in her smell, embracing her warmth and softness. So proud of the heart beating inside this small child. So afraid to let go and never be able to hold her again.
Now as she sat in the quiet house, pleading with God for Grace’s life and wishing she could do more to make what would probably be her last Christmas special, an idea blossomed in Evelyn’s mind and gave her spirit hope for the first time since John had died.
She threw down her knitting and flew into the kitchen, frantic with excitement. Yes, dye and sugar. Peppermint? Yes. It was all there. She laughed in delight and hoped her idea would work.
* * *
“See? You could use this to explain. Do you see it?” Evelyn, sticky and exhausted from her night in the kitchen hoped Grace would see and be happy. As the young child stared at the gift in wonder, Evelyn realized it was too complicated. What had seemed so simplistic in the wee hours of dawn now seemed foolish.
Evelyn should not have doubted her daughter’s childlike faith and wisdom. Grace looked at her mother with tears in her eyes.
“It’s perfect.”
* * *
Mr. And Mrs. Brown along with their 5 children and the O’Malleys with their 6, gathered in Evelyn and Grace’s small home on Christmas Eve. Though all of humble status, they shared a delightful dinner and sang carols as if they were royalty. A happier Grace, Evelyn hadn’t seen in years. Her brown eyes sparkled with laughter and reflected the soft candlelight around the table. As they gathered in the small sitting room to share stories of happier times, Grace could hardly sit still. Evelyn realized that her cough had been less intrusive this day and she hoped all the excitement wouldn’t make the sickness more aggressive.
She watched Grace and at the right moment, they shared a secret smile. It was time.
“And now, here is our gift to you,” Evelyn passed out the sugar sticks to the children and puzzled adults. As they examined the peculiar red and white candy, Grace jumped up to explain, “We have a Bible lesson for the children.” She looked at the young ones, now gathered at her feet, cherishing the candy, colored red and white and shaped like a cane, and prayed they could listen intently.
“Many years ago, man lived and walked with God. He had everything he ever needed or wanted. But Satan convinced man he needed more. And so, Adam and Eve disobeyed God and brought death into the world and became separate from God’s presence. For many centuries following that horrible time, man has yearned to be with God again. Praise be to God, He made a way. Christmas is the time we celebrate the solution to man’s eternal problem. See, God made a way back to Him through His Son, Jesus.”
Grace held up her peppermint candy so that it looked like a “J”. “This J stands for Jesus, it can also be a shepherd staff,” she turned the candy upside down to demonstrate, “because shepherds were the first to know of Christ’s birth. Psalm 23:1 says, ‘The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.’”
She pointed to the base of the candy, which was pure white. “This white is to remind you that Jesus, born of a virgin and without sin, was the pure, unblemished sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 3:3 reminds us, ‘every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.’”
She took a quick lick of her candy cane and instructed the children to do the same. They eagerly tried the sweet candy. “Do you taste that pure peppermint? Jesus is a wonderful, unmatched, spicy-sweet nourishment for our souls.”
She took another lick and savored it. “This,” she said with delight, “reminds me of Psalm 34:8, ‘O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.’”
They enjoyed their candy in silence for a moment. Evelyn saw that even the adults were playing along and intrigued with the candy-story.
As they watched, Grace’s countenance fell and she pointed to the thick red stripe that twirled around the white cane.
“Colossians 1:14 reminds us of the price Jesus paid for us. Jesus, ‘In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins’.”
Grace looked at the people that she loved dearly, gathered in her small home. “He paid such a high price for us,” she said. She looked each face over, praying for them, that they would see the goodness of God in this simple candy.
Soon she smiled again and turned one last time to the candy cane. She lovingly pointed to the three small red stripes and said, “Mother added these to show the trinity. That we may be reminded of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We see them so many times in scripture, but one stands out the most to me: Matthew 3:16,17: ‘And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ See? Jesus is the Son. God the Father is speaking and the Holy Spirit is the dove.”
* * *
Long after their guests had gone home and Grace had been settled in bed, Evelyn sat by the fire and looked over her midnight creation. She had not known when she set out to make a simple gift for Grace what would happen in the hearts of her dear friend and neighbors. Each one, down to the youngest child, had accepted Christ as their Savior. Evelyn listened to the welcome silence in the house. Young Grace had not coughed for hours and her cheeks had been bright and pink this day. Could it be that God had spared her young child? That He wanted her here, spreading the good news of His kingdom, just as she had done this Christmas Eve?
Evelyn smiled and sucked on her own candy cane and thought, “Yes, dear Lord. You are such a sweet gift. Let me never forget.”