The Top 40 Traditions of Christmas: The Story Behind the Nativity, Candy Canes, Caroling, and All Things Christmas Read Online Free PDF Page A
Author: David McLaughlan
1845.
Why?
So if the Christmas pudding mix was used to preserve meat, the mince pies that evolved from it must have been quite substantial. Why then, do we now have mince pies that are so small?
It’s all down to Oliver Cromwell banning Christmas! The original mince pies were large enough to feed whole families, but difficult to hide. People celebrating Christmas in Cromwell’s England risked jail if they were caught, so they had to be prepared to hide all signs of Christmas from Cromwellian spies.
So the pies became “bite-sized,” and, more often than not, Cromwell’s men were left with nothing more than a delicious aroma—and no proof!
13
Christmas Stockings
Who?
The man behind the unlikely tradition of Christmas stockings is usually thought to have been Nikolaos of Myra. He was a Greek Christian who became bishop of Myra, a city of Asia Minor.
Nikolaos, or Saint Nicholas as he became known, was a kind man, and his faith was such that he became known as Nicholas the Wonderworker for the miracles he performed. The title “Saint Nicholas” was expressed in Dutch as
Sinterklass
, and this came into American English as “Santa Claus.”
Nicholas’s personality and piousness was such that he is revered by both Catholic and Protestant churches. He is the patron saint of sailors, children, archers, students, and even thieves!
What?
Christmas stockings used to be the stockings people actually wore. They would be hung from the mantelpiece in anticipation of finding small gifts inside them on Christmas Day morning.
Some families fill stockings for their children with little “stocking fillers” and put the larger gifts under the Christmas tree. But in poorer times and places the stocking fillers might be all the child received. Cold ash from the fire was often used to fill out stockings with only a few gifts. Naughty children traditionally received a lump of coal.
In modern times large, decorated Christmas stockings can be bought in stores. And some of them even come already filled with treats!
Where?
The city of Myra, where Nicholas was bishop, was a part of Lycea during his lifetime. These days it is known as Demre and is situated on the Antalya coast in Turkey. Nicholas was a Greek Christian, and a sizable community of Greek Christians lived in the same location until the 1920s.
The original stockings would have been hung up at the fireplace to dry overnight. In modern times stockings might be pinned to the wall or hung by the foot of a child’s bed.
Bishop Nicholas’s kind gift has become part of children’s Christmases wherever the holiday is celebrated—although some people do leave out shoes rather than stockings!
When?
Nikolaos of Myra was born in 270 AD and died in 343 AD, so the idea of leaving gifts in stockings probably originated in the early fourth century. It continues to be a Christmas favorite seventeen centuries later.
Those families who lay aside a “Christmas room” and decorate it all through December might hang their stockings up at any time during that month. Otherwise the Christmas stocking is usually hung up on Christmas Eve, although, with fewer houses having fireplaces these days, parents may have to be more imaginative about where they are hung.
The stocking is often the first thing explored on Christmas Day morning!
Why?
Bishop Nicholas (before he was a saint) was wandering through town one evening, according to legend, when he overheard a father’s lament. His three daughters all had men they wanted to marry, but he couldn’t provide them with dowries, so the weddings couldn’t go ahead.
Nicholas waited until the middle of the night then slipped into the man’s house. He carried with him three bags of gold, one for each daughter. Looking around for a place to put them, he spotted the daughters’ stockings hanging over the fire to dry. He left the bags of gold in the stockings—and a
Why?
So if the Christmas pudding mix was used to preserve meat, the mince pies that evolved from it must have been quite substantial. Why then, do we now have mince pies that are so small?
It’s all down to Oliver Cromwell banning Christmas! The original mince pies were large enough to feed whole families, but difficult to hide. People celebrating Christmas in Cromwell’s England risked jail if they were caught, so they had to be prepared to hide all signs of Christmas from Cromwellian spies.
So the pies became “bite-sized,” and, more often than not, Cromwell’s men were left with nothing more than a delicious aroma—and no proof!
13
Christmas Stockings
Who?
The man behind the unlikely tradition of Christmas stockings is usually thought to have been Nikolaos of Myra. He was a Greek Christian who became bishop of Myra, a city of Asia Minor.
Nikolaos, or Saint Nicholas as he became known, was a kind man, and his faith was such that he became known as Nicholas the Wonderworker for the miracles he performed. The title “Saint Nicholas” was expressed in Dutch as
Sinterklass
, and this came into American English as “Santa Claus.”
Nicholas’s personality and piousness was such that he is revered by both Catholic and Protestant churches. He is the patron saint of sailors, children, archers, students, and even thieves!
What?
Christmas stockings used to be the stockings people actually wore. They would be hung from the mantelpiece in anticipation of finding small gifts inside them on Christmas Day morning.
Some families fill stockings for their children with little “stocking fillers” and put the larger gifts under the Christmas tree. But in poorer times and places the stocking fillers might be all the child received. Cold ash from the fire was often used to fill out stockings with only a few gifts. Naughty children traditionally received a lump of coal.
In modern times large, decorated Christmas stockings can be bought in stores. And some of them even come already filled with treats!
Where?
The city of Myra, where Nicholas was bishop, was a part of Lycea during his lifetime. These days it is known as Demre and is situated on the Antalya coast in Turkey. Nicholas was a Greek Christian, and a sizable community of Greek Christians lived in the same location until the 1920s.
The original stockings would have been hung up at the fireplace to dry overnight. In modern times stockings might be pinned to the wall or hung by the foot of a child’s bed.
Bishop Nicholas’s kind gift has become part of children’s Christmases wherever the holiday is celebrated—although some people do leave out shoes rather than stockings!
When?
Nikolaos of Myra was born in 270 AD and died in 343 AD, so the idea of leaving gifts in stockings probably originated in the early fourth century. It continues to be a Christmas favorite seventeen centuries later.
Those families who lay aside a “Christmas room” and decorate it all through December might hang their stockings up at any time during that month. Otherwise the Christmas stocking is usually hung up on Christmas Eve, although, with fewer houses having fireplaces these days, parents may have to be more imaginative about where they are hung.
The stocking is often the first thing explored on Christmas Day morning!
Why?
Bishop Nicholas (before he was a saint) was wandering through town one evening, according to legend, when he overheard a father’s lament. His three daughters all had men they wanted to marry, but he couldn’t provide them with dowries, so the weddings couldn’t go ahead.
Nicholas waited until the middle of the night then slipped into the man’s house. He carried with him three bags of gold, one for each daughter. Looking around for a place to put them, he spotted the daughters’ stockings hanging over the fire to dry. He left the bags of gold in the stockings—and a
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