Don't forget: Geminids - December 13 and 14th

Don't forget that despite the bright moon, Geminids will fly again through the night sky on December 13 and 14.  According to most astronomical publications, we should see as many as 30-40 meteors per hour.

The moon may be a little on the bright-side during viewing hours (as it has with many of our meteor showers this year in Connecticut) but we should still be able to see quite a few bursts through the moonlight.

Good luck and happy viewing!

The Origin of the Christmas Stocking

Christmas Stockings hung with care

If you came to this entry looking for the definitive answer on where the Christmas Stocking came from then you might come away slightly disappointed.  Fact is, that even the Internet turns up to be a rather disappointing resource for this topic. 

There are references to pretended lineage to our ancestors leaving boots or shoes full of treats as an offering to the Norse God Odin of ancient times, but most historians would argue that the leap between that tradition, and Christmas Stockings is too great to be considered legitimate.  As we know, not everything in history which contains a similarity is connected.

Sinterklaas also known as
St. Nicholas

The earliest known story of leaving treats or coins in footwear comes to us from the Netherlands; it's the story of Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas)which dates back to the Middle Ages. Sinterklaas who represented the Bishop (and all that is good) would be accompanied by Zwarte Piet (Black Peter) who represented mischief and evil.  Sinterklaas and Black Peter were roles played which were included as part of a public religious Feast similar to Carnival. The Feast included public drinking and the making of offerings of coins or food to the poor, particularly children. 

Over time, the tradition morphed into a lesson for children on good and evil behavior.  Sinterklaas would come on the evening of December 5th and reward those children who were good by leaving coins or fruits in shoes.  That tradition has morphed into December 5th-December 6th gift-giving for children that occurs today.  Christmas in Holland is celebrated as a family-religious day with most gift-giving having occurred in early December; although adults tend to exchange gifts on Christmas Eve (December 24).

Even today, Sinterklaas and Black Peter
parade annually through Amsterdam

In a previous posting, I covered the origin of the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas (Twas the Night Before Christmas) first published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel in 1823 (attributed to Henry Livingston) which contains the distinct reference to the hanging of stockings by the fireplace.  You'll recall the words:

The Stocking were hung by the Chimney with care,
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

Another popular theory about the legend of the Christmas Stocking has no timestamp so it's likely a fable that was inspired by Livingston's Poem, or Thomas Hast's well-known illustration of St. Nicholas.  It is the Legend of the Nobleman and his three daughters (reproduced below):

Many believe there was once a kind nobleman whose wife had died of an illness leaving the man and his three daughters in despair. After losing all his money in useless and bad inventions, the nobleman and his daughters had to move into a peasant's cottage. When it came time for the daughters to marry, the father became even more depressed as his daughters could not marry without dowries.

One night after the daughters had washed out their clothing, they hung their stockings over the fireplace to dry. That night Saint Nicholas, knowing the despair of the father, stopped by the nobleman's house after the family had gone to bed. He peeked in the window and saw the daughters' stockings hanging by the fire.

Inspiration struck Saint Nicholas, and he took three small bags of gold from his pouch and threw them carefully, one by one, down the chimney into the stockings. The next morning when the daughters awoke, they found their stockings contained enough gold for them to get married. The nobleman was able to see his three daughters marry, and he lived a long and happy life.

Since the precise lineage of Christmas Stocking tradition is less traceable than that of either the Christmas Tree or even Santa himself, the best we can do is to identify the earliest references of the business of hanging stockings at Christmastime with the hope of St. Nicholas filling them with treats. 

Whether Livingston borrowed the notion from the Dutch in part is not known.  The tradition of hanging stockings by the fireplace - to dry as part of regular daily washing routine had been in practice for hundreds of years. The idea of filling them with gifts may have been in practice for a long time in Europe and in some villages in the United States, but was certainly infused into American Christmas traditions after A Visit from St. Nicholas was published and republished in the mid-1800s. 

Little Stockings by the Fire
Sheetmusic illustration
(1878)

 One of the most interesting references of hanging stockings comes from the sheet music for Little Stockings by the Fire composed by J.L. Gilbert (1878). 

Shades of Night are softly falling, All the world is white with snow
Moaning winds are sighing, calling. About the house they go.
Bells without are loudly clanging. But within a sweeter choir - 
Childish hands are busy hanging Little Stockings by the Fire.

Chorus:
Little Stockings by the Fire.  Gone is ev'ry care and pain.
Childish hearts have their desire. Santa Claus has come again.


Today, stockings and stocking-stuffing have become a multi-million dollar business into itself.  Candy-Canes, Chocolate Santas, and dozens of items can fit into the industrial size stockings that are hung by the Chimney.  Being concerned for my health, Santa tends to leave me little candy these days, but plenty of socks, chapstick, handwarmers, and other necessities - including foot powder!  But I'm all the better for it, I promise.

Whether we can thank The Dutch or Henry Livingston, the tradition of hanging our stockings on Christmas Eve is a big part of Christmas tradition that will never disappear.

If you have any additional thoughts on Christmas Stockings, or an interesting historical reference to Christmas Stockings, please send them along, and I will update this article and attribute credit  to you for your contribution.