Candy canes are a Christmas tradition.  What is the origin?
user
Candy canes were originally made by the Christian children in France who had a tradition of going around door-to-door singing carols.  They’d present the children with a stick of candy, and as they sang they’d wave the stick around like a wand.
assistant
Why are they red and white
user
Because they looked good with Christmas decorations.  Many carols and songs at Christmas are about red and white.  And because the Christian religion uses red for it’s main symbol: the cross.
assistant
I disagree that the color is because it looks good with other decor.  How does red represent the cross?
user
Well, we have to go back a bit.  To the Christians in the early days of Christianity, the cross was a symbol of suffering and death.   When the Crucifixion happened, Jesus’s body was marred by blood and suffering.  We imagine that the nails used to crucify him were bronze, and the combination of the bronze, the blood, and the suffering symbolized the death that would befall the Roman Empire and its old way of life.  Over time, the symbol of the cross began to represent the sacrifice of Jesus, which would mean he was giving himself for others.  It took on a spiritual meaning and became a symbol of good.   This, combined with the red color of blood, are the reasons for red becoming the color associated with Jesus and the crucifixion.
assistant
Candy canes are a Christmas tradition.  What is the origin?
user
Candy canes were originally made by the Christian children in France who had a tradition of going around door-to-door singing carols.  They’d present the children with a stick of candy, and as they sang they’d wave the stick around like a wand.
assistant
Why are they red and white
user
Because they looked good with Christmas decorations.  Many carols and songs at Christmas are about red and white.  And because the Christian religion uses red for it’s main symbol: the cross.
assistant
I disagree that the color is because it looks good with other decor.  How does red represent the cross?
user
If you look at a red ornament, you can see that it’s got a long rectangular base that’s red.  And then there’s a little bit sticking out the top that’s white, and then there’s a cross-bar sticking out of the white part.  You can see why people might have used red to represent a cross-shaped ornament.  And then when they used the color for the candy cane, people might have thought that it looked like a long red stick, but when you waved the stick around, people thought it looked like a cross.
assistant
Candy canes are a Christmas tradition.  What is the origin?