So, what's the backstory of Candy Canes? Susan's here to tell you! 

Lots of stories swirl around about the candy cane: the white base color of the candy cane symbolizes Jesus’ purity; the red stripes symbolize Jesus’ blood when he died on the cross; and the J shape was chosen to represent the J in Jesus. Then there’s the thinking that Christians passed the candy cane as a secret handshake acknowledging they were Christian to avert prosecution. Actually, most candy sticks and canes were white up until the early 1900s. The red stripe came later, a common late-19th century color; and the J had more to do with a hook necessary to hang it from the tree. As for the secret handshake: the candy cane is thought to have originated in Germany, which, in fact, was Christian, so why be secretive?