Since I have been talking about Christmas traditions a lot this season, I wanted to share some information I just learned about one. See, I always grew up receiving, among other things, an orange in my stocking. I never really wondered why, it was just always something that happened at Christmas. This year, I put oranges in the stockings of the kids in order to carry on a tradition that I grew up with and intend to do every year with them.
The question of “why did we get oranges?” from the kids raised the simple answer of, “it’s a Christmas tradition” from me… but I looked it up to feel further educated about it, and to further educate them as well.
I got the below information from Grovenotes.com.
One reason that oranges are a cherished tradition for many is: Finding an orange in the toe of your Christmas stocking is an old and cherished tradition. Before the advent of modern shipping, oranges were a rare and valued delicacy in the middle of winter, not something the average person could afford.
Here’s what the actual story behind the tradition is: The legend of the Christmas orange harkens back to the time of the original Saint Nick. According to the story, Saint Nicholas was a rich man who devoted his life to helping the poor. He learned of a poor man with three beautiful daughters who wished to marry but could not because they had no dowries. The man was too proud to accept charity; so on Christmas Eve Saint Nicholas tossed three bags of gold coins down the chimney of their home, one for each daughter. The gold landed in the girls’ stockings which had been washed and hung over the fireplace to dry. In the morning the delighted girls discovered the gold coins in the toes of their stockings and were able to marry their true loves. To bring similar luck and prosperity to their children, parents began placing sweet, juicy oranges in their children’s Christmas stockings to represent the bright, shiny gold coins of Christmas legend!
Makes more sense now, doesn’t it? I look forward to being able to explain to the kiddos! And I hope that some of my friends and readers find it as interesting as I do!
Merry Christmas!
Photos courtesy of www.thekitchn.com and livingstyletrends.com.
