National Candy Cane Day Timeline

1950s

Candy canes made for the masses

Gregory Keller, a Catholic priest, invented a machine to automate the production of candy canes.

1920s

Canes for the kids

In Albany, Georgia, Bob McCormack began making candy canes by hand as special Christmas treats for his children and friends.

1847

Candy cane decor

August Imgard, a German-Swedish immigrant, decorated a small blue spruce with paper ornaments and candy canes in Wooster, Ohio.

1670

The sweet start

The story of candy canes began in the Cologne Cathedral in Germany, where the choirmaster handed out the bent sweet sticks to his youngest singers to keep them quiet during the long Living Creche ceremony.