Christmas stockings tradition began 200 years ago

Let’s celebrate the 200-year anniversary of the introduction of the Christmas stocking into American homes.

 Historians say one of the earliest references in American literature to the traditional Christmas stocking is found in the classic poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” written by Clement Clarke Moore.

 

The verse was originally published in the Dec. 23, 1823, edition of The Troy Sentinel, a semi-weekly newspaper that served Rensselaer County in upstate New York. 

Everyone knows the poem’s opening lines by heart:

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there….

 

Freelance journalist Megan Cooper of Charlotte, N.C., said: “The origin of the Christmas stocking involves a folkloric tale of a kindly Saint Nicholas and a despondent family.” A penniless widower is trying to raise three daughters who are on the brink of womanhood. The man is worried sick that his daughters will be left destitute. 

“Hearing of this father’s dilemma, Saint Nicholas came to their family home and filled the girls’ stockings, which were hanging above the fireplace to dry, with solid gold spheres” – providing them with financial security. 

Episcopal Church librarians at the St. Nicholas Center, a project of the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va., say: “The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara on the southern coast of Asia Minor. At the time that area was part of Greece, although it’s now within the boundaries of present-day Turkey.” 

The ancient port city of Patara on the Mediterranean Sea was once the capital of the province of Lycia. 

Raised to be a devout Christian, Nicholas obeyed Jesus’ words to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor.” Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra (a larger city within Lycia) while still a young man.

 

“Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need, his love for children and his concern for sailors and ships,” reported the librarians.” 

“Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals – murderers, thieves and robbers.” 

Bishop Nicholas was 73 when he died on Dec. 6, 343, in Myra. He was canonized as a saint in the late 10th century. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St. Nicholas Day.

 

Known today as the Feast of Sinterklaas, Dec. 6 is observed annually with the giving of gifts in the Netherlands, Belgium, Hungary, Luxembourg, western Germany and northern France. 

Near the end of Moore’s poem, we learn that St. Nicholas came bearing gifts: 

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose….

 

Today, Santa often packs each stocking of children on his “nice list” with an orange, symbolic of the three gold balls St. Nicholas left many years ago. 

“Naughty listers” are likely to get a lump of coal. Psst. It’s not too late for kids…and grown-ups…to get their acts together.