Winter of 1670 Cologne Cathedral Cologne, Germany.
It was a bitterly cold winter. Everyone suffered, but homeless waifs suffered the most. Abused, they wandered the streets, begging for food, looking for shelter. Risking his job, the choirmaster took pity on them, giving them refuge inside the cathedral during service.
Children being children sometimes made noise disturbing worshippers and the clergy.
You may think the worshippers and clergy should have been more disturbed about the plight of the children and less about the noise they made. I agree. Facts being what they are, they weren’t.
The choirmaster looked for a way to quiet the children. He made candy sticks for them to suck on during the service.
Like these children, shepherds were exposed to the weather, despised, and rejected. He was inspired to make them with a curve like the canes shepherds carried.
Where did the candy cane get its stripes? That’s a story for another time.
This year, in your cozy homes, as you hang candy canes on your Christmas tree, pray for children orphaned by war, disease, and violence. If you are more like the choirmaster than the disturbed worshippers, maybe your family would forego a luxury to support an orphan this year.