The Very First Christmas Stocking & the Gifts of the 7 Coins by Terry Paul LaFargue

In Hungary, they practice the same tradition, except that they put their shoes beside the door or the window sill. In Holland, people still follow the tradition and fill their shoes with hay or a carrots as food for the horse. Children would put carrots, straw and even sugar in their boots as food for Sleipnir, Odin’s flying horse, and as a way to repay the gratitude, Odin would replace the stocking stuffers of children with treats such as candies. Nicholas gave to the daughters of the old man.Īnother story that commonly comes up when researching the history of the Christmas stocking is the Norse legend of Norse god Odin and his flying horse. Ins some cultures, oranges were placed inside the stockings as a symbol of the bags of gold that St. It is said that this story inspired other children to hang their stocking near the fireplace mantle, hoping that Saint Nicholas would visit them and place gifts in their stockings. The next morning, the family was ecstatic to find the gold and the daughters of the old man were finally able to get married. When the family was fast asleep, Saint Nicholas went inside their home and placed one bag of gold in each of the washed stockings his three daughters had hung above the fireplace to dry. As the story goes, Saint Nicholas heard about the old man and decided to help him secretly.

Since his family had lost all of its money, the old man feared for the future of his three daughters because he had no money to give for their dowries. One story of the first stories about the Christmas stocking centers around a poor old man and his three daughters. Children nowadays opt for modern kind of toys as the best stocking stuffers for Christmas, such as gadgets or branded toys.Īlthough there many different cultural takes on this tradition around the globe, there are two stories that are believed to be the source of the tradition: the story of a poor old man and his three daughters, and the Norse legend of Odin. And, not only have the Christmas stockings changed, the gifts and sweets that are put inside the stockings have changed through time as well. When the tradition began, children would hang their socks or even place their shoes on the mantel, while today there are customized larger stockings that are specially designed to be used by children during Christmas. The tradition of hanging Christmas stockings on the fireplace mantle has been around for ages.

The Very First Christmas Stocking & the Gifts of the 7 Coins by Terry Paul LaFargue