Candy canes are what they sound like - a piece of candy in the shape of a cane (or walking stick, or shepherd's crook if you prefer).
It's not known precisely when these were invented. There is a story dating them back to the latter half of the seventeenth century in Germany, which ties them in with giving sweets (candy) to children during Mass in the shape of a shepherd's crook to remind them of the shepherds who attended Jesus. This is probably false.
There is a definite recipe for candy canes published in the middle of the 19th century, and was associated with Christmas - an association it still bears - a few decades later.
The traditional candy cane is a short, red and white striped hard candy pole with a hook on the end. It has been hung on Christmas trees for decades now, so the day after Christmas is an ideal time to eat them - they are no longer really needed for decoration by this point.
