A HISTORY OF…

the Christmas stocking

On Christmas Eve, extra-large socks the nation over take on a new and altogether more significant role. The ceremonial hanging up of a stocking, whether for ourselves or with children, is likely to invoke a sense of nostalgia for the days when anticipating Father Christmas’s arrival filled us with spine-tingling excitement. But where did this custom come from? As with many of our more unusual traditions, folklore has merged with Christian celebration to create a thoroughly modern one.

While there are no written records, the most commonly cited story refers to a poor father unable to provide a dowry for his three daughters – without which none of whom could marry. A generous neighbour, later known as St Nicholas, heard of the man’s plight and, given his kind nature, decided to help by dropping three gold coins down the chimney to the family – they then tumbled into some stockings drying by the fire. Across the continent, a different myth has the Dutch character Sinterklaas travelling the country on a white horse, stopping occasionally for his steed to graze on hay or carrots, which children would leave out in their clogs. Sinterklaas would then replace these with more exciting gifts and sweets.

Over hundreds of years, these stories have evolved and intermingled, but it wasn’t until Clement Clarke Moore penned the famous festive words “The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there” in his 1823 poem A Visit from St Nicholas that the custom was cemented in the western world. Now, nearly 200 years later, it remains an integral part of our Christmas celebrations, providing an opportunity to share special gifts with loved ones.