One popular legend of the Christmas Stocking goes like this:
In Scandinavia, there was a father who had recently been widowed. He had three beautiful daughters. He had a hard time making ends meet financially and he was distraught that he could not provide a dowry for his daughters to marry. The father was too proud to ask for help.

There was a man, St. Nicholas, who was born a nobleman in 280 A.D. in Patara, Lycia (Turkey) and helost his parents when he was young. He never married; lived a life of celibacy and became Bishop of Myra. He was popular for his gifts of generosity to help others. 

When he heard about the father’s plight, he slid down their chimney on Christmas Eve and filled the girls’ stockings with gold coins so that the girls could marry well. 

St. Nicholas demonstrated the message that we should be kind and caring to those less fortunate. 

The marketing of Santa Claus (St. Nicholas) was boosted by Miracle on 34th Street which came out in 1947. Stockings throughout the 1950s featured Santa with his reindeer flying over a country home. And “red” became the primary Christmas stocking color in the1960s. 

 Christmas traditions are celebrated around the world in different ways. Here are a few of the traditional ways people celebrate or have celebrated this holiday season. 

The Dutch had “Sinterklaas” who docked in harbors and traveled into the city riding a white steed. He filled stockings with simple gifts: candies, ornaments, nuts, toys, trinkets. Later in America, he became known as Santa Claus and the Dutch children put out their clogs to be filled. 

In Norway, chief-god Odin, on his flying horse Sleipnir, arrives for the pagan Yule celebration, gifting children with gifts and candy. Norway is the birthplace of the Yule log. Yule (hweol) means wheel and the Norse believed the sun was a great wheel of fire.

Italy used a witch, La Befana, who wouldn’t go to Bethlehem with the three wise men and so never found the Christ Child. She began giving gifts to children who set out shoes or stockings on Epiphany, January 6th. La Befana started the tradition of bad children getting coal or dark candy in their stockings. 

Germany began the tradition of decorating Christmas trees, part of the Winter Solstice tradition –- beginning in the 17th century. 

  In Mexico, in 1828, Joel Poinsett brought the red and green Poinsettia plant from Mexico to America and the plant (named after him) became a universal part of Christmas tradition. Mexico uses pinatas (filled with candy and coins) for children to break and gather the loot strewn on the ground. 

England, started the tradition of Christmas cards, popularized by John Horsley who produced small festive scene greeting cards with verses which became an overnight sensation.


 Celtic people long used mistletoe for its “magic powers” to heal wounds and increase fertility. Mistletoe hung in their homes for good luck and to ward off evil. Later, mistletoe hung in English doorways -- for a kissing moment.

Caroling began in England with wandering musicians traveling around and performing, hoping to get a hot meal or money in exchange for their music. In the English Middle Ages, Christmas pudding was known as “figgy pudding” or plum pudding -- made with suet (fat), flour, sugar, raisins, nuts and spices tied in a cloth and boiled until filled out and ready to eat.

The living Manger Scene was created by St. Francis of Assisi in 1224 to explain the birth of Jesus to his followers. 

In Greece, many believed in goblins that caused mischief during the 12 days of Christmas. On January l -- St. Basil’s Day -- they exchange gifts. 

So, you can see that many of our own American Christmastime traditions have been borrowed from many cultures. 

In my own family, there were special traditions for the holiday. Prior to the start of the Christmas Season, Mom put all our names in a bowl and each of us would draw out a name and keep it a secret. She then took a spiral notebook and put each of our names on the top of a page. We were then the Kris Kringle for the name of the kid we drew. The object was to secretly do something each day before Christmas for that person so they would not know who it came from. On Christmas Eve, she would read off the name at the top of a page and the items they received. We would all try and guess who their Kris Kringle was. It was a lot of fun and got us thinking very creatively. 

On Christmas Eve, we had an early dinner of oyster soup and crackers and always an angel food cake (symbolizing the purity of the coming days.) Afterwards, prayers on our knees around the nativity scene and the decorated Christmas tree. Gathered in our small living room, each of us children were handed our red stocking, all hand knitted by my aunt and our names were stitched on the front. Each of us laid our stocking on the back of the sofa in a long row as we had no mantel and fireplace. Then, all the Christmas gifts that we had bought and wrapped (with ironed gift wrappings of last year) were carried out and place beneath and around the tree. Our eyes grew wide from seeing how many gifts there were to open. Dad was always assigned to read The Night Before Christmas story to all of us.

Next came the singing of the Christmas carols and the hymns that were chosen for that night. Before we went to bed, we carefully poured a glass of milk -- and some of the homemade Christmas cookies we had baked the day before -- for Santa to have when he came and brought us goodies. And we were sent to bed “with visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads.”  

Almost before the crack of dawn, we awakened to the magic that Santa Claus indeed had visited. Our stockings were bulging with an orange, apple, banana, Hershey bar, and sometimes little toys (called stocking stuffers.) And we each got new pajamas for Christmas. It was an exciting time and our cheerful glee filled the room. We showed each little gift we found by our stockings off to our other siblings. Then Mom had us put things away and get ready to go to church. After service, we would gulp down the milk and donuts or cold cereal with banana. We couldn’t eat fast enough -- eager to open our gifts! 
 The opening of the gifts was ceremonial too. It started with the youngest child opening each gift. Each gift item was written down carefully by Mom so that we could write a personal thank you note right after Christmas Day.

 My Christmas wish for you is that your minds be peaceful; that your hearts feel joyous and your lives be contented and rewarding. And don’t forget to hang your stocking! 
Happy Holidays.