The Legend of the Christmas Stocking

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there"

There was a kindly nobleman whose wife had died of an illness leaving the nobleman and his three daughters in despair. After losing all his money in useless and bad inventions the family had to move into a peasant's cottage, where the daughters did their own cooking, sewing and cleaning.

When it came time for the daughters to marry, the father became even more depressed as his daughters could not marry without dowries, money and property given to the new husband's family.

One night after the daughters had washed out their clothing they hung their christmas stockings over the fireplace to dry. That night Saint Nicholas, knowing the despair of the father, stopped by the nobleman's house. Looking in the window Saint Nicholas saw that the family had gone to bed. He also noticed the daughters stockings. Inspiration struck Saint Nicholas and he took three small bags of gold from his pouch and threw them one by one down the chimney and they landed in the stockings. (If you're looking to re-create this story for your own children, we found some really cool stockings at personalcreations.com.)

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.

Children all over the world continue the tradition of hanging Christmas stockings. In some countries children have similar customs, in France the children place their shoes by the fireplace, a tradition dating back to when children wore wooden peasant shoes.

In Holland the children fill their shoes with hay and a carrot for the horse of Sintirklass. In Hungary children shine their shoes before putting them near the door or a window sill.

Italian children leave their shoes out the night before Epiphany, January 5, for La Befana the good witch. And in Puerto Rico children put greens and flowers in small boxes and place them under their beds for the camels of the Three Kings.

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Comments

leticia

22:03 11/27/2011

stocking

ADIB

19:01 12/09/2010

BEAUTIFUL WEBSITE

little D

18:48 12/09/2010

i liked this article and the lil rabbit

Anne from Massachusetts, US

14:27 12/09/2010

Hi! I liked this article

marie-amÃ©lie from France

11:11 11/30/2010

I don't understand your articles because I don't speak english very well. Sorry

Morgan Ashton from Texas, US

12:37 11/29/2010

I love Christmas.. It's the greatest time of year, and it's almost here! It gives me butterflies everytime I think of Santa!! I bake Santa Claus cookies every day and save them all for Christmas Eve. (Santa has eaten worse than a year old moldy cookie) I give him chocolate millk because he's allergic to the white kind.(: I'm Santa's favorite person. I'm an elf every single year for Halloween. No joke. Once, I was walking home from school, and my grandma got runover by a reigndeer!!! So now my grandpoo believes in Santaaa!(:

Maghan Martin from Texas, US

13:24 11/23/2010

courts from United Kingdom (Great Britain)

05:49 11/10/2010

thnx this helped me lol

melanie Gust from Alaska, US

17:13 12/16/2009

i love my daddy my mommy my big sister and i love my family i am in togiak ak

melanie from Alaska, US

17:27 12/15/2009

like to read it more often love my daddy

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