Thursday, December 25, 2008

From Our Home to Yours

Legend has it that the tradition of hanging Christmas stockings by the fireplace began with two poor sisters. Both wanted to marry but their father was too poor to pay their wedding dowries. One Christmas Eve, the sisters hung their stockings by the fire to dry. Saint Nicholas intervened, tossing gold coins down the chimney and into the stockings. On Christmas Day, the sisters were delighted to discover the money—enough for both dowries. Victorian children sometimes hung Christmas stockings on their bedposts. Parents then had a recipe for stocking gift giving that still works today:

“Something to eat,
Something to read,
Something to play with,
and Something they need.”

And that is the legend of the Christmas stocking. This can be found at http://www.share-christmas.com/traditions/stocking.htm

Santa still delivers a Christmas stocking loaded with all kinds of goodies to our son. He's a 19 year old college guy now yet not too old to go along. Christmas Eve is a time of gift opening at our home, now that our only child is grown. But, come Christmas morning, he goes right to his stocking on the hearth.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours.

11 comments:

Ottavio (Otto) Marasco said...

Thanks Karen, and Merry Christmas from ours as well ... Enjoy!

Jolene said...

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

AmPowerBlog said...

Thanks for sharing that story ... there's hope in the world.

Merry Christmas, Karen!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful story, Karen. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Paul is a Hermit said...

One can't ever get too old to check his stocking.
Merry Christmas, Karen and family!

The WordSmith from Nantucket said...

Merry Christmas, Karen! Interesting history story.

Annie said...

Our 18 and 16-year-olds are the same. The stocking is special!

Z said...

Never knew that about the Christmas stockings! The thing I miss most about being married to a German and opening gifts on the Eve is the Santa morning-stockings...so I put a few things in for Christmas morning breakfast anyway!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Karen!

courtneyme109 said...

mErRy ChRiStMaS Karen!

Kris, in New England said...

I hope your day was quite merry and quite bright!

Right Truth said...

Those suggestions for the stockings are great. I don't think I ever heard them before.

I hope you had a great Christmas, I know we did.

Debbie Hamilton
Right Truth