In December, one of the biggest events is Christmas and the atmosphere around that time becomes all jolly and holly.

One of the sweets that people enjoy the most on Christmas is the candy cane. It is also used as ornaments for Christmas trees, being a symbol of Christmas. But it actually bears deep meanings. The creator of the candy cane is a candymaker from Indiana (U.S.). He wanted to somehow deliver the message of love through sweets. So he shaped the candy into a “J” shape, standing for Jesus Christ. The white background color represents purity and red bold stripes mean sacrificial blood of Jesus. In this way, the candymaker conveyed the love of Jesus toward humanity.

The origin of Christmas stockings is also to love. There were three sisters who were poor. They were so poor that they could not afford money for marriages. To live on, they came to rely on prostitution. Thankfully, Bishop Saint Nicholas, who is known to be the initial Santa Claus, saved them. The tale tells that he went down the chimney and stuffed the three sisters’ stockings with gold coins. The sisters thought it was a magical gift and indeed they were saved by the love and generosity of Santa Claus.

Surprisingly, one of the seasons when couples break up the most is just two weeks before Christmas—another such season is said to be the spring break. This numerical estimate was received by counting the Facebook status updates that included words such as “break up” or “broken up.” Fortunately, however, the least likely time to break up turned out to be Christmas. Apart from Valentine’s Day, Christmas too is full of love.