According to one version of the origin of the caramel cane, the choirmaster of the Cologne Cathedral, solving the problem of how to silence the singing boys during the service, and desperate to achieve silence by punishments, ordered long lollipop sticks from a local pastry chef. According to his calculation, such sweetness should have occupied the children for a long time. At the same time, in order to avoid accusations of the sinfulness of such a pleasure, the choirmaster «disguised» the sweetness as a textbook: at his request, the pastry chef bent the sticks, giving them the shape of a shepherd’s staff, so that they reminded children of the shepherds’ worship of the infant Jesus.