Christmas stockings are as synonymous with the holidays as candy canes, Santa Claus and Christmas trees. There are no written records to document the origins of Christmas stockings, but there are popular legends that may explain the tradition.

Many people have heard the story of how an act of kindnes performed by Saint Nicholas led to the tradition of hanging Christmas stockings. According to this legend , a nobleman whose wife had died had become penniless and unable to afford the dowry for his three daughters. Without a dowry, the girls would not be able to marry. On Christmas, Saint Nicholas saw the girls’ stockings hanging by the fireplace and filled them with gold. In some versions , he throws the gold down the chimney.

Some say the re-telling of this story encouraged children to hang their stockings by the fireplace, hoping that they too might be the recipient of gifts from Saint Nicholas. This became one of the many tales that helps explain how Saint Nicholas became Santa Claus.

But there may be an even earlier origin of the Christmas stocking tradition.

Author Phyllis Siefker in her book, “Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas, Spanning 50,000 Years,” traces the tradition all the way back to the the Norse God Odin and the Germanic winter festival of Yule . The author says that during the Yule festival, children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw or sugar near the chimney for Odin’s flying horse to eat. Odin would then reward those children for their kindness by replacing the food with gifts or candy. This practice, she claims, survived in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands after the adoption of Christianity and later became associated with Saint Nicholas as a result of the process of Christianization.

Many cultures now have traditions that involve leaving stockings out to be filled with gifts at Christmas, but there is a wide variation in the practice . In some countries – like Italy and France – kids leave shoes instead of stockings, and in Italy, the gifts are left on January 6, the Epiphany . And since many modern homes don’t have chimneys, in many families the tradition is now to use Christmas stocking holders.

Although the origins of Christmas stocking history will always be somewhat of a mystery , it’s clear that hanging stockings on Christmas Eve is a custom is here to stay.


Enjoy More Christmas Related Blogs;