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I. The Legend of St. Nicholas

4th-century Bishop St. Nicholas of Myra (modern-day Turkey), the historical figure who would evolve into Santa Claus.

The original Christmas stocking was basically a charity catch-all, a bishop's alms landing in someone's laundry?

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II. From Shoes to Stockings

St. Nicholas's feast day is December 6th. On the St. Nicholas Eve, people would leave their shoes or wooden clogs by the fireplace, filled with hay and carrots for St. Nick's horse or donkey. In return, they hoped to find small gifts, sweets, or coins in the morning.

Dutch settlers brought their ‘Sinterklaas’ traditions to America. Over time, the smaller shoe evolved into the larger woolen stocking in American homes, able to hold more goodies.

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III. The Fillings - Oranges, Coal, and Nuts

The Orange: Represents the three bags of gold.

The Lump of Coal: The classic threat for the naughty.

Nuts in Shells, Chocolate Coins: These continue the themes of precious, hard-to-crack bounty (like gold) and literal ‘coinage'.

Modern Fillers: candy canes, small toys, and toiletries represent the shift from symbolic or practical gifts to pure, indulgent fun.

Hi, everyone. And welcome back to the segment called【Oh, So That's Why!】《原来如此》.

Hi, 安澜.

Hi, Lulu. Hi, everyone,

安澜. You're going back for Christmas, right?

I am. I'm going back on Christmas Eve.

So let's make this Christmas special. I know over the years we've talked a lot about Christmas around Christmas time.

Oh yeah! We don't talk about it in March. It's a bit strange.

Thank you.

Okay.

But we never really focused on one thing, which is I'm assuming it's one of the quite distinctive Christmas traditions.

Yeah,

The hanging of the stockings.

Oh Okay.

So I thought in today's episode, as we always do, we get behind or get to the bottom of the origin stories of these traditions, this cultural traditions.

Sounds great!

So first of all, did you grow up with stockings hanging for Christmas?

Actually, not really no.

Oh, is that not a UK thing?

No, it's not a case of it's not a UK thing; it's more a case of it's not my family thing.

OK.

Because I used to spend my Christmases with my nan, my grandmother, and she didn't have a fireplace.

So it has to be above the fireplace.

Generally yes. But also we just never really have that tradition.

So in my family, you have your main presents in the morning. And then you have what we call tree presents in the afternoon or evening.

What are tree presents?

So these are smaller presents. So for your main present, that's when you get like the bigger stuff.

Okay.

But tree presents are normally just very small things like books for example.

Like jokey presents...

Jokey presents or presents that probably maybe like ten Pounds, twenty pounds something like that.

Oh, is that what they traditionally call stocking stuffers?

Yes, to a certain extent, but again, every family has its own traditions. So my family is not very typical, but I would say most families in the UK do have stockings.

And yet I was thinking is perhaps you were not nice enough, you were naughty.

Oh, I was perfectly nice.

All right, so can we get to the bottom of this whole stocking hanging tradition?

Oh yeah! Cuz if you think about it, it is very weird.

Yeah!

It's a stocking. It's a piece of underwear.

Yeah, but it's usually decorative now.

Well, yeah, yeah.

It’s not real stocking.

It is not like tights or anything like that or sock. But why do we do that?

Now the reason for that is one of the oldest Christmas legends and this is actually St. Nicholas.

I thought St. Nicholas is Santa Claus, Father Christmas.

St. Nicholas became Santa Claus and Father Christmas, but St. Nicholas was actually a real person in the 4th-century, the Bishop of a place called Myra in modern day Turkey was a man called Nicholas. He was famed for his secret generosity.

Okay.

So the enduring legend is that a poor man had three daughters, in those days without a dowry, they could not get married.

A dowry is the money or gifts from the girls family. 就是嫁妆.

Yeah. Without that they could not get married, and they would face a life of poverty or worse.

Now Nicholas heard about their situation and wanted to help, but secretly.

Okay!

So over three nights, he went to their house and tossed three purses of gold coins through an open window or according to some versions, down the chimney.

Oh, is this where Santa Claus would climb down the chimney to give you the pressie comes from?

Exactly

I see, I always found that to be a bit creepy.

Yeah. So where did the gold land? In the most popular version, it went into the girls’ stockings or their shoes which were by the fireplace to dry.

Oh I see. That's why they're always hanging in front of the fireplace, they were there to dry.

Exactly.

And then the gold coins fell through the chimney and just landed in the stockings.

Yeah! That's pretty much why.

Oh, interesting and still slightly creepy and a bit smelly.

Yes.

So basically the original Christmas stocking was like a charity catch-all? You know basically a bishop’s gold coins landing in someone's laundry?

Oh yeah! pretty much.

But I mean St. Nicholas in this version sounds like a superhero of goodwill, but how did this one act of charity for three very specific girls turn into a global tradition, wherever there's Christmas, for all kids.

That's because of St. Nicholas’s feast day.

Now every Saint has a feast day, so a day that's dedicated to them. And his is on the 6th of December. Now in many European countries, especially the Netherlands and Germany, children began honoring the Saint by preparing for his visit.

So on the 5th of December, St. Nicholas Eve, they would leave their shoes or clogs by the fireplace or door, filled with hay and carrots for Saint Nicholas’s horse or donkey.

I've heard you talk about you would leave out carrots...your family would leave out carrots for the reindeers.

You leave out a beer for Father Christmas and a carrot for the reindeer.

That's so cute.

And in return, they hoped to find small gifts, sweets or coins in the morning.

Now when the Dutch settlers went to America, they brought their traditions to America as well. And over time the smaller shoe grew into a woolen stocking, mainly because it could hold more things.

Is that why in America they call it Santa Claus, but you guys don't, because they copied the Dutch version.

Yeah, ‘Sinterklaas’  is the Dutch and it became Santa clause.

You just call it “Father Christmas”.

Father Christmas.Yeah!

Yes, but British people when they hear Santa Claus, they know, they understand.

Yes exactly. So that's where it all really came from. And then you have what you put in the stock in traditionally.

So what do they traditionally put into stockings?

Well, in the past, they would put in money. Or they would put in an orange.

Orange in the stocking? Why?

Because it repreents the three bags of gold, but also in the 19th and early 20th century, get an orange in winter was really rare. It was really expensive.

Oh I guess so, nowadays you can just buy them all year round.

Oh yeah! But for example, when my mother and my grandmother were young, they would get an orange at Christmas time because that was actually quite expensive.

If you are naughty, you get a lump of coal.

But this is the thing. It seems like Santa Claus they know if you, as a kid, if you have been nice or naughty, if you're naughty you get a lump of coal, 就是你会得到那一块碳, but if you think about it, depths of winter, getting a lump of coal, wouldn't that be a reward rather than punishment? So you雪中送炭捏。

Kind of kind of, you know, it's very practical, but it's not that exciting a present, but also you'd get things like chocolate coins.

We used to have chocolate coins as well.

Same in the UK.

What about nowadays?

Nowadays you probably get sweets, you get small toys. Stockings are really just like part of the present.

So for example, my niece, when she was little, my sister gave her a stocking. I didn't get stockings when I was a little kid, but for her, she wanted to get her a stocking. So she would have like little stocking presents then you have main presents.

I guess every family has its own tradition.

Absolutely.

It's like Chinese New Year, each family would have their own tradition as well.

Yeah.

I think the history and private history of festivities is really fascinating.

Yeah, exactly.

Because it really tracks how family traditions have changed.

Yeah!

So since most people don't really have working chimneys anymore, and oranges are available all year-round, why do you think this tradition still holds such a powerful, nostalgic grip in many families in the west?

Because it's a tradition, it's a ritual.

And also the stocking is intimate. It's mainly focused on one person and it's filled with like silly, sweet little things to show that you know that person.

And also just the idea of going into a stocking and seeing what you can find, it's quite exciting.

It's like a personalized magic.

Exactly.

It's more than just a sock. It's a direct line from a 4th-century bishop’s charity to modern morning joy. It's the tradition that turns everyday laundry into a Christmas miracle.

That's why we hang stockings. So it comes from a very simple act of charity. It's been shaped by folklore from Holland and Germany. And we continue to do it to this modern day.

All right. And that wraps up today's episode. Leave us a comment in the comment section, tell us what you think; and put in your request for whatever other topics you want us to talk about. And hopefully you enjoyed our holiday special.

So until next time.

We'll see you next time.

Bye!

Bye!