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Candy canes are such an iconic Christmas candy, aren’t they? We love hanging candy canes on our tree and passing them out while Christmas caroling! If you’re giving out candy canes this holiday season, you’ll love attaching this Story of the Candy Cane printable!

The Story of the Candy Cane with Printable Tags

Candy canes are so pretty – the red and white stripes plus the peppermint flavor – so Christmas-y! Speaking of that flavor, we LOVE desserts with crushed candy canes! Our CANDY CANE BROWNIES (starts with a cake mix!) and our PEPPERMINT BARK SHEET CAKE (feeds a crowd!) are both holiday favorites!

These story of the candy cane printable poem tags are a great way to tell the true meaning of Christmas in your Sunday School class this Christmas season! Sucking on a Christmas candy cane while listening to the Christmas story is a fun way to learn of the true reason for Christmas!

(As always, when giving hard candy to children, be sure to supervise.)

Our design not only works for kids, but it’s also pretty enough (with its classy floral design) to use for adults – attach the free printable candy cane poem to a simple candy cane and it’s suddenly dressed up enough to leave as a special treat on a friend’s Christmas tree as a reminder of our Good Shepherd! 

The story of the candy cane printable is 4″x4″, but if you prefer smaller cards, just scale them down during the print process. I personally like the 4″x4″. 

Once you get the story of the candy cane printable printed and cut, choose your favorite ribbon (this satin 3/8″ works great), use a hole punch to make a hole for the ribbon, and tie it around the candy cane in a pretty bow! 

(TIP: to tie a perfect bow, cross left over right for the first tie and it will go well from there. If you do the opposite, right over left, that’s when the bow is upside-down and you end up trying to fight with it to twist it around and make it stay where you want it. For a quick video tutorial on this method, head here >> YouTube video )

I like using tying these onto gifts right with the gift tag to dress up a present!

What is the Story of the Candy Cane? We have THIS BOOK that tells the story of a little girl who helps a candymaker pass out candy canes and invitations to his new candy shop grand opening, where he then explains the message of the candy cane: A “J” for Jesus, flip it over and it’s a staff representing Jesus our Shepherd as well as the shepherds who were the first to hear of Jesus’ birth. A white candy stick tells of our sinless Savior, and the red tells us of the blood He shed for us. The stripes represent the “stripes” of His suffering by which we are healed.

This story of the candy cane printable sums up what the candy cane stands for – such a great reminder of what the Christmas time season is all about! This simple poem would be fun for a class to memorize!

:: PIN FOR LATER ::

{⬇️Legend of the candy cane – free PDF Christmas printable – download button below ⬇️}

CLICK THE RED BOX BELOW TO GET THE PRINTABLE!

What is the story behind the candy cane? 

ppressed and no Bibles or crosses could be owned at the time. One man found this oppression distressing and wished he could share the love of Jesus and the joy of Christmas with the rest of the world. When Christmas came around, children didn’t get to see nativity scenes or enjoy learning about the truth of Christmas. As a candy maker, this man prayed to find a way that he could offer local children a Christmas gift that would allow him to communicate the real story of Christmas.” (Click HERE to get the rest of her candy cane story in teaching format.)

It’s also said that back in 1670, a choirmaster in Germany gave plain white sugar sticks to the smallest children to keep them quiet. Eventually a candy maker added the hooks, as well as red stripes with mint flavor.

What does a candy cane represent in the Bible? 

The candy cane has Biblical principles – A “J” for Jesus, flip it over and it’s a shepherd’s staff representing Jesus our Shepherd as well as the shepherds who were the first to hear of the birth of Jesus. A white candy stick tells of our sinless Savior, and the red tells us of the blood shed by Jesus Christ for us. The stripes represent the “stripes” of His suffering by which we are healed.

We have more Christmas printables! 🎄 Check them out:

• Printable Christmas Signs (floral)
• Printable Christmas Signs (buffalo plaid)
• Printable Woodland Animals Christmas Prints
• BIG BUNDLE of Printable Christmas Gift Tags
• Printable Christmas Scavenger Hunt
• Printable Christmas Mug Exchange Game
• Printable Christmas Banners
• Printable Christmas Games for Parties
• Printable Christmas Gift Tags for Candles
• Printable Farmhouse Christmas Signs
• Holiday Printables in 6 sizes
• Christmas “Give” List for kids
• Teacher Gift Idea with printable tags

Teaching this for the first time? Here are some ready-to-go Bible lessons and Bible verses to go with this printable:

• Candy Cane Object lesson (with PDF)
• How the Candy Cane represents how Jesus gave Himself for us
• Simple lesson on the candy cane
• Candy Cane Craft & Lesson (fun activities!)

I hope these are useful for your Christmas celebrations this year! Merry Christmas!!

Try making creative Christmas cards featuring the candy cane! You could paste this printable poem inside, then make a candy cane border on the front and put a photo in the center!

Looking for more Christmas gift ideas?

The next time you need little gifts, try this DIY HOT COCOA GIFT KIT! It’s cute (& has a free printable)! It’s perfect for giving to the mailman, students, hairdresser, etc.!

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is hanging these MOLASSES COOKIE ORNAMENTS on the tree like we did when we were growing up! 

This post was originally published on September 20, 2022.