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Christmas Stockings

	It’s a bit of a strange one when you think about it. We hang a stocking, or a sock, from the edge of our fireplace and on Christmas morning it is filled with little gifts. Why? Why do we hang these things? All good Christmas traditions might be considered a bit odd if you sat and thought about them, but this one doesn’t seem to have its roots in any one story or be attached to anything logical that springs to mind. There are far too many variations on the origin of the Christmas stocking tradition for anyone to claim to know the truth behind this practice. While it’s almost certain it began in Europe, there are different versions of the story depending on who you ask and where that person is from. For example, the English version says that Father Christmas once dropped some coins while coming down the chimney on Christmas Eve. If it wasn’t for the stockings the little girls of the house had hung on the fire to dry, the coins would have slipped through, straight down the grate and would have been lost forever. From that day on the girls continued to hang up their stockings on Christmas Eve and so the tradition spread.

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Origin of Christmas Stockings

Another variation of this story tells us that St Nicholas dropped the money down the chimney on purpose after hearing in the village how poor this particular family was.

But popular belief seems to suggest that this practice started in Holland where children would leave their clogs by the fire for Santa Claus to fill them with gifts. The story spread, clogs becoming stockings in Britain and other parts of Europe. It was popularised by the Victorians, as many Christmas traditions were, and has since swept through much of the world. Well, that’s the theory anyway.

But why we do this may not be as important as how we do it. Gone are the days when children could expect to find an orange and a bag of nuts in their little stocking. Today it’s much more sophisticated and stocking fillers have become a teaser to the main event. Candy, trinkets, small toys and even modest gifts of jewelry can all be found in a Christmas stocking. In some ways delving into a stocking can be more exciting than the gifts under the tree. It’s a bit like a lucky dip. You never know what you’re going to find and as your hand reaches in to those unknown objects and gets ready to pull one out, the pleasure of Christmas really begins.

For adults this never really goes away. Even if you’re now the one hanging the stocking and giving the gifts, the simple joy of doing this and perhaps making your own stocking guarantees the tradition of the Christmas stocking lives on.

You can of course, buy ready made, ready filled stockings these days, but that’s just not the same. Whether it’s old socks, handmade stockings, pillowcases or clogs, the principle remains. Fill it with small gifts, hang it up, and on Christmas morning watch the children’s delight as they reach in to retrieve their first gift. And see the magic begin!