What is the candy for Christmas?

Along with candy canes , gingerbread is possibly the most iconic holiday candy that isn't regularly eaten at other times of the year. Making gingerbread families and houses is an activity that families have been doing for a long time, and it is one of the most well-known Christmas traditions.

A candy cane is a cane-shaped stick candy often associated with Christmastide, as well as Saint Nicholas Day. It is traditionally white with red stripes and flavored with peppermint, but the canes also come in a variety of other flavors and colors.

What is the oldest candy still made?

Good & Plenty. Good & Plenty is believed to be the oldest candy brand in the USA. The pink-and-white capsule-shaped chewy licorice was first produced in 1893 in Philadelphia. It's still found at concession stands everywhere, which makes Good & Plenty a treat that can be enjoyed by candy lovers of all ages.

What is the oldest Christmas tradition?

One of the oldest and most enduring Christmas traditions is the Yule log . It finds its origin in the Germanic and Scandinavian celebration of Yule, a winter solstice festival that dates back to ancient times.

What is the most popular candy sold on Christmas?

(WHNT) – Peppermint bark, mini Reese's cups, and Starburst, oh my! Those are just a few of the most popular Christmas candies, according to a new report from CandyStore.com. However — the top candy varies from state to state.

What is a traditional Christmas candy in England?

Britain: Mint humbugs Brits offer these peppermint-flavored black-and-white striped candies to each other throughout Christmas season—sometimes as a lighthearted nod to the phrase "Bah, humbug!" made famous in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.

What gender is candy cane?

Despite little being known about her personality at the time, there is a lot of Candy Cane that we know about. Candy Cane acts as a typical teenage girl (or valley-girl) , as she is shown to own a phone.

What do the stripes on a candy cane mean?

Cane: Is like the staff used by the shepherds in caring for sheep. Jesus is our “Good Shepherd.” The Color Red: Is for God's love that sent Jesus to give his life for us on the cross. The Stripes: Remind us of Jesus' suffering-his crown of thorns, the wounds in his hands and feet; and the cross on which he died .

What were candy canes originally called?

Legend has it that in 1670, the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany gave his young singers sugar sticks to keep them quiet during the long Living Creche ceremony. In honor of the shepherds featured in the story, he bent the candies into small shepherds' crooks.

What is the oldest Christmas song in the world?

Reportedly, one of the first known Christmas hymns is " Jesus Refulsit Omnium " ("Jesus, Light of All the Nations"), written by St. Hilary of Poitier in the fourth century.

What is the oldest Halloween candy?

Between the 1880s and early 1900s, candy corn was invented and made in large quantities. It was designed to look like chicken feed since half of Americans at the time worked on farms.

What was the first use of Christmas candy canes?

“Legend has it that the candy cane dates back to 1670, when the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany handed out sugar sticks among his young singers to keep them quiet during the Living Creche ceremony ,” Schildhaus says.

What candy came out 1912?

Life Savers was first created in 1912 by Clarence Crane, a candy maker from Garrettsville, Ohio (and father of the famed poet Hart Crane).

Traditional Christmas Candy: Remember the Good Old Days? (2024)

Remember the Good Old Days? Marzipan candy, maple walnut fudge, and good old-fashioned hard Christmas candy add traditional flavor to holiday celebrations.

Traditional Christmas Candy: Remember the Good Old Days? (1)

Christmas celebrations are rich in tradition: Christmas Eve story reading from classic tales like ’Twas the Night Before Christmas or Polar Express…setting out a plate of cookies and milk for Santa…maybe even one special gift exchange for kids who just can’t wait until Christmas morning. Traditions inspire childhood memories—joyful memories like special foods and desserts that are only served at Christmas and found in stockings hung for Santa. One of those edible traditions is good old-fashioned Christmas candy.

Create a special memory for the children in your family by sharing the magic of Christmas with a sweet indulgence. Here are some traditional candies that can help kindle those memorable moments:

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Marzipan Candy

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. At Christmas, many cultures shaped and painted the candy to resemble cheerful miniature fruits such as lemons, limes, oranges, and strawberries. In Germany, it is common to give marzipan shaped like a loaf of bread, called Marzipanbrot, and also shaped to look like small potatoes (Marzipankartoffeln).

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Maple Sugar Candy

The earliest American candy (not brought over from Europe) came from Native Americans and the colonists, whose primary sweetener was maple syrup. Sugar maple trees, native to North America, yield a slightly sweet sap that is boiled down to make a rich syrup; it takes approximately 40 gallons of sap, depending on conditions, to make one gallon of syrup. When the syrup is boiled down further, it thickens into a slightly granular sugar that can be poured into decorative molds and cooled. A favorite pastime of early American children in the winter was to boil maple sugar outside and pour the hot liquid in the snow to make a hard candy. Today, maple sugar candy is still a time-honored tradition and a perfect winter treat.

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Maple Walnut Fudge…and Other Flavors

Another unique candy originating in the United States is fudge. Fudge making began in the late 1880s in New England, where the creamy confection gained early popularity through women’s colleges selling it for fundraisers. It was also sold in the late 19th century in shops on Mackinac Island, a resort destination in northern Michigan. Fudge can come in many flavors, including chocolate pecan, butter pecan, and maple walnut fudge. Setting out a plate of Christmas fudge will please young and old alike.

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More Christmas Treats from the Candy Kitchen

Many remember their mothers and grandmothers making honeycomb candy for Christmas. Also known by several regional names across the U.S., such as fairy food, sponge candy, and sea foam, this crunchy but super light toffee confection is found all over the world. Made with baking soda (which makes the candy syrup foamy and filled with tiny air pockets before it hardens), it can also be coated in chocolate.

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A similar confection, called divinity, also has a light, airy (and less crunchy) texture, but is made with sugar, egg whites, corn syrup, and chopped fruit or nuts.

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Christmas candy is a fun treat. But, making candy at home can be tricky. Professional-style cookware made of copper is expensive, but produces the best results for melting sugar at high heat. A marble or stainless steel surface is excellent for spreading out candy, like butter toffee or peanut brittle to cool on a large surface. If you like the idea of including several types of candy in your holiday celebrations, consider online resources that specialize in traditional candy making.

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Perhaps the best-known Christmas candy mixes of all are the multi-colored hard candies we all grew up with as kids. Every trip past the candy dish yielded a handful of cut rock candy, rainbow gems, baby ribbons, chocolate-filled straws, filled raspberries, and other treats to suck on while opening gifts. Other Christmas classics include peppermint patties and candy canes.

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The Best Candy for Christmas

Make the holiday extra special with artisan candies and chocolates that you entertain and gift with. People enjoy sharing candy; that’s why it makes a great gift.

For relatives who may not be able to spend Christmas in person with family, sending a candy gift through the mail is an excellent option. Kids especially will find joy in a box of sweets sent just for them. A gift of candy signifies generosity and sweet memories.

If you’re crafty, you can make a homemade Advent calendar or Christmas countdown featuring the best candy of the season. Making your own calendar allows you to be creative with the sweets you choose. Store-bought calendars typically have little chocolates hidden behind each day. Make yours more interesting by setting up a trio of candy jars and allowing children to choose which sweet they want each day leading up to Christmas. Fans of Elf on the Shelf can use the elf doll to lead kids to his clever candy hiding spot.

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Consider starting a candy gift tradition: a gift exchange that everyone will look forward to at the end of each year. Have each participant write their name along with their top three favorite types of candy and chocolate. Then randomly exchange names and candy wishes among the participants. Set up a time for the gift exchange, either in person or by mail. Everyone loves a food gift, and Christmas candy gifts really help brighten someone’s day!

With this approach, you can be sure that gifting the types of candy everyone likes becomes a special memory connected to Christmas.

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