Chip Wade, creator and lead designer of Wade Works Creative, shares the best gift ideas this holiday season on Fox & Friends Weekend.
during christmas season The sugarcane industry is facing a significant jump in sales.
Carly Shieldhouse, director of public affairs and communications at the National Confectioners Association (NCA), told FOX Business in an email that in 2023, candy sales during the holiday season will reach nearly $7 billion, and that number is expected to increase by 3 percent. In 2024
According to the NCA website, Always a Treat, it's no surprise that most cane sales occur between November and December, with the second week of December being the most popular time to sell.
Candy canes have become a staple of the Christmas season for decoration and as a sweet treat. (/iStock)
Today, sugar cane flavors go far beyond the classic peppermint. There are candies based on popular candies like Nerds, Swedish Fish, Sour Patch, Sweetarts, Lifesavers and others.
Today, you can find more obscure flavors like chocolate, bacon, and even mac and cheese.
Candies are not just eaten, they are habit forming Christmas tree decoration
In fact, half of Americans plan to use the candy as a decoration for their tree or use it to decorate packages, Shieldhouse told FOX Business.
Candies are often used to decorate the Christmas tree. (/iStock)
How you can give the gift of stocks this Christmas to help loved ones begin their investment journey
While modern times have brought unique flavors of sugar cane to Christmas tree decorations, they were not always available in such a wide variety and were not traditionally used to decorate trees.
The exact origin of sugar cane is a bit murky, though there is a popular theory to support the beginnings of the popular holiday treat.
The candy cane, in its most primitive form, is thought to date back to 1670 as a way to keep young singers quiet in Germany during church services.
According to Always a Treat, at the time, the choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral in Germany gave young singers sugar sticks to keep them quiet during the Living Cheche event.
Candies and their flavors have evolved over the years. Today, flavors go far beyond the classic peppermint. (Richard Lutens/Toronto Star via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“In honor of the shepherds featured in the story, he bent the candies into little shepherd crooks,” the website notes.
According to the site, candy canes first appeared in the United States when August Imgard, a German-Swedish immigrant, decorated a Christmas tree in Worcester, Ohio, with paper ornaments and candy canes in 1847. This tradition was sparked throughout the country. .
It was years later that the candies started working It is widely sold throughout the country.
According to Always a Treat, when the candies were originally sold, there was no clear red line. According to the source, these tapes did not appear until the end of the 20th century.
Candy canes are a popular stocking stuffer and can also be attached to gifts for added appeal. (/iStock)
Having a Christmas gathering this year? This celebration will cost more this year
Prominent sellers of sugar cane in the early years of sweet consumption included Doscher's Candies and Bobs Candies.
According to the company's website, Doscher's Candies, a company founded by Claus Doscher in Cincinnati, Ohio, cooked the mixture in copper kettles and rolled and kneaded it by hand in 1871 using peppermint oil.
Bob's Candy was started around 1920 by Bob McCormack in Georgia.
According to Georgia Public Broadcasting, McCormack's brother-in-law, Father Gregory Keller, was responsible for inventing the groundbreaking device used to twist candy and bend it into a cane shape.
Majority of sugarcane wholesale is during Christmas season. (Etihad Hawke-Christian Dietrich/Image via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Get FOX Business on the Move by clicking here
Nowadays, candies have become so popular that there is even a day dedicated to it. Every year, December 26 “National Candy Day”.
As far as the “correct” way to consume sweets, there is no verdict yet.
Fifty-four percent of people eat their candy starting with the straight end, while 30 percent eat the curved end first, according to the NCA.
Breaking a candy is another way to eat it, according to the organization, which 16 percent of people follow.