The Traditional Candy Cane 🍭🎄
With its red and white stripes and famous curved shape, the candy cane has become one of the most recognizable symbols of Christmas.
Originally enjoyed as a sweet treat during the festive season, it slowly found its place on Christmas trees too, bringing a playful touch of color, nostalgia, and childhood memories.
Product details:
- Handmade in Asha village, Thailand
- Material: cotton, steel
- Size: 11 x 4.5 cm
Made by Akha Women
- These handmade decorations are made by Akha women as part of the AKHA MA-DE social programme
- Every time you buy from us, you take part in creating work and opportunity for these women
Bulk orders:
- For large orders, please contact us
Contact me:
- You can reach us any time on Messenger, on Instagram, or through our Contact page
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Packaging and shipping:
- Delivery within Thailand takes around 5 to 10 working days from the order date. As every piece is handmade, timing can vary with the size of the order.
- For international or express shipping, please contact us.
Returns and exchanges:
We accept returns and exchanges:
- Contact us within 7 days of receiving your order
- Send the item back within 14 days of receiving it
Return conditions:
The buyer covers the cost of return shipping where the dissatisfaction was not caused by a third party. If an item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for the loss in its value.
* Product images are for illustration only and may differ slightly from the actual item. Screen settings vary between devices, so colours may not appear exactly as shown.
** Please allow a variation of 1 to 2 cm, as every piece is handmade and measured by hand.
The Story of the Candy Cane, From Faith to Christmas Ornament
The candy cane is no longer only a sweet. It is one of the Christmas ornaments people most often hang on the tree, thanks to a hooked shape and a red and white spiral anyone recognises at a glance. Behind that shape sits a story more than 300 years old.
A sweet of faith, more than 300 years old
The story begins over 300 years ago, when candy was still made as a plain white stick, boiled from sugar until hard and rolled into shape.
In the same period Christians began celebrating the birth of Jesus and adopted the Christmas tree as its central symbol, decorating it with lollipops and sweets, cookies, chocolate and gifts, both to look beautiful and to hand out to children.
From then on the tree became a symbol of sweets and presents.
In 1670 a choirmaster at the cathedral in Cologne, Germany, bent the long straight sticks into a hook resembling a shepherd's crook, in memory of the shepherds who followed the star of Bethlehem to the infant Jesus in a single night, and handed them to the children at church.
That is where the candy cane became a symbol of faith.
The colours only arrived around the 20th century: three stripes for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, white for the purity of Christ, red for the blood he shed, the hard and brittle texture for the unity of Christians, and the mint flavour for the ancient herb of the Old Testament.
Turn the cane upside down and it forms a letter J, for Jesus.
A Cotton Candy Cane You Can Use Every Year
A real candy cane is eaten once. The cotton candy cane from Macrame by Nicha is woven by hand from 100% cotton, wound around a steel frame one turn at a time, so the red and white spiral stands up off the surface and you can feel it.
It is not a pattern printed on plastic. It measures 11 x 4.5 cm and weighs almost nothing, so the thinnest artificial branch will hold it. It does not shatter if it falls, and it comes back out to hang on the tree every year.
Ways to Decorate With a Candy Cane
Candy canes for Christmas decorating hang well beside our other ornaments: the Snowflake, the Christmas Stocking, the Christmas Bell, the Christmas Ribbon and the Rattan Baubles. For a feature spot on the tree, take the larger Premium Candy Cane.
Beyond the tree, tie one to a wreath on the front door, use it on a gift box instead of a bow, or string several along a stair rail. It is safe in a house with small children or pets, because it is all cotton with no hard parts that can break into pieces.
Where to Buy a Candy Cane Christmas Ornament
If you want a candy cane Christmas ornament rather than a sweet, one that lasts for years, Macrame by Nicha weaves every piece in Asha village, Mae Yao district, Chiang Rai, by Akha women through the Akha Ma-De social programme, since 2021. Three colours, red, green and blue, at 159 baht each.
For companies: we can produce these as branded Christmas gifts with your logo, no minimum order. Request a quote.