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Christmas Stockings

History

Like so many of our Christmas traditions, the idea of hanging a stocking up on Christmas Eve was popularised by the Victorians. The first representation to achieve mass distribution is believed to be the illustrations by Thomas Nast, who in 1886 illustrated the George Webster story Santa Claus and his Works. The illustrations showed stockings hanging on the mantleplace by the fire.

The tradition actually goes back much further. Many people trace it to 16th century Holland where Dutch children would leave their clogs by the fireplace in the hope that Sinterklaas would fill them with treats.

There is a story of unknown provenance that tells of a father who had three daughters. Since the father couldn't afford dowries, the daughters remained single. One winter St Nicholas decided to help and dropped three gold coins down the chimney of the house. The coins were caught in the stockings which the girls had hung up to dry by the fireplace. The next day they discovered the coins, were soon married and lived happily ever after.

Today

Today there are many variations on the Christmas stocking tradition. Sometimes it is placed by the fireplace (warning: be very, very careful if you are lucky enough to have a real fire). Other children place them at the foot of the bed - this has the advantage of keeping the kids occupied for a while when they first wake up!

The gifts left by Santa are also extremely varied. Sometimes they consist of chocolates and candy, at others they are small presents known as stocking fillers. Sometimes these "stocking" fillers require a pillowcase!

Handmade

Few people nowadays use a genuine stocking, most either buy a decorative Xmas stocking (often felt) at the store or make their own as a craft project. For those skilled in knitting or in sewing forms such as needlepoint or cross stitch it can be a very rewarding activity and you can buy a variety of patterns, kits, etc. A personalized Christmas stocking, perhaps including the child's name, is a very popular project idea.