Children in many countries hang stockings on Christmas Eve to receive gifts from Santa. The tradition dates back to at least the 19th century in the US and may have originated from placing shoes outside for gifts. Legend says St. Nicholas gave gold coins to poor girls, inspiring the tradition.
In many countries of the world, including Germany, Great Britain, Canada and the United States, children hang their stockings by the fireplace on Christmas Eve to be filled with small gifts from Santa during the night. The precise origins of the Christmas stocking tradition are not known, but there are numerous clues and theories. The practice of hanging stockings at Christmas in the United States dates back to at least the early 19th century and may have its origins in the time of St. Nicholas in the 4th century AD
Christmas stockings are mentioned in the 1823 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” which famously begins “It was the night before Christmas,” so they were already a common tradition in America by that time. Many cultures have a similar tradition of placing the shoes in front of the fireplace or outside their doors to be showered with gifts, whether on Christmas Eve or St. Nicholas Eve on December 6 or the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. Christmas stockings may have evolved from this tradition as wooden shoes became rare. Normal socks were probably used before special socks became the norm.
According to legend, the Christmas stockings honor a charitable gift from the historic Saint Nicholas, a 3rd- and 4th-century bishop in present-day Turkey known for his anonymous gift-giving. The story tells of a poor widower with three daughters who had no chance of marriage as they could not afford a dowry. St. Nicholas left gold coins in girls’ stockings as they were hung over the fireplace to dry at night. St. Nicholas inherited significant wealth from his parents and he is believed to have given many anonymous gifts to the poor during his career as a bishop. He was later transformed by legend into the gift-giving Santa Claus, and the Christmas stockings may be a tribute to the gift of the real St. Nicholas.
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