Christmas stocking
A Christmas stocking is an empty sock or sock-shaped bag that is hung on
History
Christmas stockings were mentioned as an established American tradition as early as 1823 in the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas. The origin of the Christmas stocking is thought to originate in the life of Saint Nicholas.[2][3] While there are no written records of the origin of the Christmas stocking, there are popular legends that attempt to tell the history of the Christmas tradition. One such legend has several variations, but the following is a good example: St. Nicholas was staying with a poor family and heard that the father was planning to sell his three daughters into prostitution to save them all from starvation. St. Nicholas wanted to help but knew that the old man would not accept charity, so he decided to help in secret. When he left the house after dark he threw three bags of gold through an open window; one landed in a stocking. When the girls and their father woke up the next morning they found the bags of gold and were, of course, overjoyed. The girls were saved from their sad fate. Other versions of the story say that Saint Nicholas threw the three bags of gold directly into the stockings, which were hung by the fireplace to dry.[4][5][6]
This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from St Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold; this variation is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. This is also the origin of three gold balls being used as a symbol for pawnbrokers.[4][5]
A tradition that began in a European country[
An unsubstantiated claim is that the Christmas stocking custom derived from the Germanic/Scandinavian figure Odin. According to Phyllis Siefker, children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw, or sugar, near the chimney for Odin's flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. Odin would reward those children for their kindness by replacing Sleipnir's food with gifts or candy.[8] This practice, she claims, survived in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands after the adoption of Christianity and became associated with Saint Nicholas as a result of the process of Christianization. This claim is doubtful as there are no records of stocking-filling practices related to Odin until there is a merging of St. Nicholas with Odin. St. Nicholas had an earlier merging with the Grandmother cult in Bari, Italy, where the grandmother would put gifts in stockings. This merged St. Nicholas would later travel north and merge with the Odin cults.[citation needed]
Present day
Today, stores carry a large variety of styles and sizes of Christmas stockings, and Christmas stockings are also a popular homemade craft. Many families create their own Christmas stockings with each family member's name applied to the stocking so that Santa will know which stocking belongs to which family member.
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1619048973. Retrieved 25 December 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c Dixon, Jeremy (5 December 2016). "Top 10 Christmas traditions and their origins". The Telegraph.
Leaving stockings out at Christmas goes back to the legend of St Nicholas. Known as the gift giver, on one occasion he sent bags of gold down a chimney at the home of a poor man who had no dowry for his unmarried daughters. The gold fell into stockings left hanging to dry. St Nicholas was later referred to by the Dutch as Sinterklaas and eventually, by English-speakers, as Santa Claus.
- ISBN 978-0310873884.
- ^ ISBN 0224035983.
- ^ ISBN 0771015313.
- ^ "Three Impoverished Maidens". St. Nicholas Center. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
- ISBN 978-0310737391.
- ISBN 0786429585