Diamond T Design
Let your light shine!
Creative ideas for creative minds.
Let your light shine!
Creative ideas for creative minds.
“The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.”
– A Visit From Saint Nicholas
Have you ever wondered why we hang up stockings—which are basically fancy socks—during the holiday season only to wake up on Christmas morning to find them filled with tiny gifts? According to the Smithsonian, one of the most popular legends about the tradition's origins is the tale of a poor widower who worried that he wouldn't be able to marry off his three daughters because of his lack of wealth.
Fortunately, Smithsonian explains, "St. Nicholas was wandering through the town where the man lived and heard villagers discussing that family's plight. He wanted to help but knew the man would refuse any kind of charity directly. Instead, one night, he slid down the chimney of the family's house and filled the girls' recently laundered stockings, which happened to be drying by the fire, with gold coins. And then he disappeared." In the morning, the family found the gifts and the daughters became eligible to wed. 'Twas a Christmas miracle!
St. Nicholas was staying with a poor family and heard that the father was planning to sell his three daughters into prostitution to save them all from starvation. St. Nicholas wanted to help but knew that the old man would not accept charity, so he decided to help in secret. When he left the house after dark he threw three bags of gold through an open window; one landed in a stocking. When the girls and their father woke up the next morning they found the bags of gold and were, of course, overjoyed. The girls were saved from their sad fate.
A recently widowed man and father of three girls was having a tough time making ends meet. Even though his daughters were beautiful, he worried that their impoverished status would make it impossible for them to marry.
St. Nicholas was wandering through the town where the man lived and heard villagers discussing that family’s plight. He wanted to help but knew the man would refuse any kind of charity directly. Instead, one night, he slid down the chimney of the family’s house and filled the girls’ recently laundered stockings, which happened to be drying by the fire, with gold coins. And then he disappeared.
The girls awoke in the morning, overjoyed upon discovering the bounty. Because of St. Nick’s generosity, the daughters were now eligible to wed and their father could rest easy that they wouldn’t fall into lonely despair.
Orange or tangerine in the toe of filled Christmas stockings The gold Nicholas threw to provide the dowry money is often shown as gold balls. These are symbolized by oranges or even apples. So the orange in the toe of the stocking is a reminder of Nicholas' gift.
Gift-giving in secret, during the night Stockings are filled while children are sleeping. Nicholas did his gift giving secretly, under cover of darkness. He didn't want to be seen and recognized as he wanted those he helped to give thanks to God.
Candy Canes * These are really candy croziers, one of St. Nicholas' symbols. All bishops carry staffs, hooked at the top like a shepherd's crook, showing they are the shepherds who care for, or tend, their people.
St. Nicholas Day Blessing of Candy Canes * A crozier, or bishop's staff, is a common symbol for a bishop and is often used to identify St. Nicholas. Symbolizing a shepherd's staff, it is a visible reminder of a bishop's responsibility to care for people as the Good Shepherd cares for his sheep.
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