On Dec. 6 we celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas. Many Catholics celebrated this feast by hanging stockings the night before and feasting the next morning on a variety of treats found in them. Others will place their stockings out Christmas Eve and the feasting of the stocking treats will go along with the opening of presents either that night or the next morning.
The tradition of hanging the stockings or putting out the shoes comes from a legend passed down to us about a 4th century bishop named Nicholas of Myra. It is the story of how Nicholas came upon a poor father and his three unmarried daughters. There was no money for a dowry, which was expected for a good and noble marriage, and so while the girls’ stockings where hung by the fireplace to dry, Nicholas tossed gold coins through an open window which landed into their stockings, thus giving the girls what they needed. Nicholas was canonized and given the feast day of Dec. 6. The traditions of giving little gifts and festive celebrations have occurred ever since.
The celebration of this feast has varied throughout the centuries. In parts of Europe, such as Italy, Bavaria, and the Netherlands, it can be quite an elaborate celebration with fireworks, religious processions, and parties. It was the first immigrants from these countries that brought St. Nicholas traditions to the United States. By 1810, the Catholic Dutch in New York were already hanging their stockings by the fireplace on the eve of Dec. 6 expecting Sinterklass, the Dutch name for St. Nicholas, to fill them. A few years later in 1823, Clement Clark wrote a poem in a newspaper titled A Visit from Saint Nicholas which begins, “Twas the night before Christmas” and within his poem is the line, “the stockings were hung by the chimney with care.” Another author a few years later named Washington Irving, wrote an article that included the idea that Santa Claus, thus changed from Sinterklaas, was now a jolly, fat, white bearded man who road over treetops and handed out presents to children. These articles sparked a wave of new Christmas traditions for everyone. American Protestants who wanted to participate in the festive stocking hanging tradition began to hang their stockings on Christmas Eve. American consumerism took on from there.
Regardless of when people hung stockings, or what faith tradition was practiced, there were still some common customs of what type of goodies were stuffed in the stockings. First you had to be good or the threat of coal in your stocking loomed weeks beforehand. As for the treats, the most common item in times past was an orange. One story recalls that the gold St. Nicholas threw in the house was actually gold balls, therefore resembling oranges. In the past oranges were considered a special treat and were not available year round as they are now. The orange eventually gave way to the popcorn ball, which had the same shape and was a bit more delightful for children to receive. Then there were the chocolate gold coins, also to represent the money St. Nicholas gave to the girls. The candy cane, shaped like a bishop’s crozier, became another popular stocking stuffer. Today, it is pretty much anything goes, from candy bars to gift cards and of course the threat of coal for bad behavior.
There are many things families can do for the feast of St. Nicholas beyond hanging of stockings. Check out some great ideas at stnicholascenter.org.