The Christmas stocking tradition
A Christmas stocking is an empty sock or a bag shaped in the form of a sock for children on Christmas day or Christmas Eve.
A Christmas stocking is an item used in the United States and some other countries like the United Kingdom, Japan, and the Netherlands. Although children in the Netherlands sometimes use wooden shoes as well as a Christmas stocking as a place to have Santa put toys and goodies.
A Christmas stocking is hung over the fireplace so that Santa Claus can place goodies in it such as small toys, candy, fruit, coins, and other small gifts when he comes down the chimney. In return for Santa Claus stuffing their stocking with sweet treats and toys, he is rewarded cookies and milk by the children who live in the house.
The items that are left in a Christmas stocking are usually called stocking stuffers. It is a tradition in western culture that children who have been bad all year get nothing but coal in their stocking. But, this rarely happens to any child.
It is also tradition that a Christmas stocking is placed over a fireplace. However, since most homes today don’t have fireplaces, Christmas stockings are placed anywhere in the hope that Santa Claus can find Christmas stockings anywhere in a house.
Suggestions for a stocking
One traditional practice is to put five gifts into a Christmas stocking. These gifts should excite each of the five senses. Here are some examples of stocking stuffers for the five senses:
- Something to eat such as a chocolate bar
- Any item that makes noise such as a toy or walnuts
- Any item that is pleasing to the eyes such as a sapphire ring
- Something that is pleasing to touch such as modeling clay or a nightgown
- Anything that has a good smell such as shower gel.