Harrogate Christmas & Gift Show: Hall M, Stand M14, M16, M28
Piers Croke, Marketing Director of Gisela Graham London, traces the origins of this charming Christmas custom
The Dutch got there first. Long before it was it was New York, it was New (‘Nieuw’) Amsterdam. And it’s through the Dutch that so many of our “traditional” Christmas customs come down to us.
Let’s start with Santa Claus. The name started with the Dutch Sinter Klaas – St. Nicholas, to us non-Dutch speakers. When the English colonists arrived they borrowed some of the Dutch Christmas customs – such as hanging up children’s stockings on Christmas Eve for Sinter Klaas/Santa Claus to fill with goodies.
St Nicholas is among our more long venerated saints, living some time in the 4th century. He’s celebrated through the Christian world as the patron saint of many professions: sailors, perfumiers, choirboys, bankers, thieves (??) among others.
He enters into the story of stockings through a slightly unnerving legend. It seems he learnt of the plight of three poor young girls. Their father, unable to afford the dowry to enable them to marry, planned to sell them into slavery. St Nicholas told them to hang up their stockings overnight. The next morning the stockings were filled with bags of gold, saving the girls from a fate worse than death.
From this came the tradition of setting out a stocking (or, in some countries, a shoe) for the gift bringer to fill with treats and presents.
Originally stockings were hung above the fireplace which was logical; since it was down the chimney that Santa came and went.
Hanging up stockings is certainly an old tradition. To our knowledge German children have been hanging up stockings hopefully on Christmas Eve since at least the 16th century and perhaps before that.
Nowadays children have to make do with a symbolic tangerine in the stocking toe, instead of the fabled bag of gold. Up at least to the age of seven, most children believe – including the author – it was filled by Santa.
And At Gisela Graham we’re more than happy to keep the secret of who fills the many stockings we offer.
