Congratulations Kristin Bridgeman from Ponderings! Your Christmas Tree for the Homeless won yesterday’s voting poll! 
And now for today’s prompt: Candy canes
There are many legends about the origin of the candy cane, and all of the legends are full of meaning. Some say that they are shaped like a shepherd’s staff, others believe that the candy cane is shaped like a “J” for Jesus. Candy canes were originally pure white. It wasn’t until after 1900 that the candy cane was shown with its now familiar striping. The red stripes are said to represent Christ’s blood, while the pure white represents the purity of the Christ child. If you look closely, most candy canes have three red stripes. Tradition cites that these stripes are to remind one of the Trinity. The confection is said to have been made hard in order to symbolize the Church as the Rock, and peppermint flavoring was used in order to remind the Christian of the use of hyssop in the Old Testament.
The first record of a candy cane being used as a decoration here ,in America, is by a German immigrant living in Wooster, Ohio.
If you are interested in learning more about the candy cane, click here.
Take a moment to vote for your favorite wreath!
Today’s voting:
A little bit about today’s participants…
1. Kelli’s Wreath is over from Racing For God where Kelli chronicles her journey as a marathon runner and Christian mama.
2. Roseanne Elliott provides the Baby Shower Wreath in her blog Turning My Heart. What a cute idea for a Christmas-time baby shower, huh? Check out her lovely blog. She writes about homeschooling and having a heart for God.
3. The Book Lover’s Wreath is provided by Amy from over at Make Me A Mary.
Believe it or not she threw this wreath together during her lunch break! Wouldn’t it be a cool addition to a library? Amy writes beautifully, and she encourages her readers to be Mary’s rather than Martha’s!
4. The lovely handmade Cranberry Wreath is submitted by Frances. Named for the adorable badger in children’s books, Frances shares all kinds of things over at her place, including some lovely pictures of the Christmas decorations at her house.
Link up your post with a picture of a candy cane (real or giant decoration)! Include my blog button, and visit other “candy cane” blogs. Stop by tomorrow to vote for your favorite candy cane picture, find out who won the Christmas Wreath Photo contest and find out what tomorrow’s photo hunt will be! Have fun! (Blog links must be provided before 8:00 AM CST, in order to be voted on 🙂 ) I have no idea why the number of links doesn’t update…There are participants!
Joining with Ann today:
and with Jennifer:
journeytoepiphany.wordpress.com 
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
Cool wreaths! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Aren’t they? The creativity of others is always so inspiring.
Oh, pooh. I took a picture of my tree this morning but I’m a day late and a dollar short. That’s just the story of my life :). Oh, well, enjoying the view from here. Thanks for giving me a little Christmas cheer!
Maybe your picture would work for the ornament prompt? Thanks for coming by!
Pingback: That cranberry wreath | Egg thoughts, etc.
You know, the background of the candy canes was enlightening, at least until you got to what the colours stand for. For one small reason. We used to get root-beer flavoured candy canes from a local candy store when I was a kid.
The stripe was brown.
I don’t want to know……. 😀
Seriously, if they have a green stripe with the red stripes, is the green for the Earth and the Garden of Eden? Or just a money-grubbing capitalist ploy? Either answer can work.
You are so funny, John. I think people see something and then make up significance sometimes…
I’m here late! School ended today! I love this so much! Great idea!
Happy vacation! Enjoy your time off!