Stockings by the Fire

I remember as a child waking up on Christmas morning and heading straight for the presents. Some time later in the morning we would remember the stockings that were pinned to the fireplace mantel. They were overlooked mostly because we already knew what was in them. Christmas Stockings at my house were always the same every year. They were white tube socks filled with assorted nuts and fruit and maybe some coins in the toe. Dad was responsible for doing the socks and he was predictable, most years.

After I got married I discovered that Christmas Stockings were a big deal in some homes. Joyce’s family used specially made stockings. They were shaped liked stockings but much larger and decorated for Christmas. In them we found new socks, (I always found it humorous that there were socks in my stocking!), and there were always fun things like pencils, toys, and snack food.

Joyce and I have carried on her family’s tradition. Every year before the presents can be opened we look inside the “stockings.” The actual decorative stockings hang in the living room. In their place we fill gift bags with goodies that the kids and grandkids always look forward to. Some things are practical, like new socks, and there are always fun surprises that we pick out especially for each person.

They say the tradition of Christmas Stockings goes all the way back the St. Nick himself. The original Nicholas was a fourth century Christian who became a lay preacher and because of his extraordinary devotion eventually became the Bishop of Myra, in modern day Turkey. As the story goes, he heard of a man with three daughters who was so poor he could not afford dowries so they could be married. Nicholas wanted to help but knew the man was too proud to accept charity so he walked by his house and threw three gold coins in the window. As it happened, the girls’ stockings were hanging by the fire to dry and by a miracle the coins landed in the stockings. The girls could get married and a legend was born.

Christmas has been a time of gift giving from the beginning. The wise men from the east brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to honor the baby Jesus. We give gifts to our children and each other. The gifts may be small or large, practical or fun, but they all represent the love and sacrifice that went into the gifts we give.

Jesus was, and is, God’s greatest gift to us. He continues to give us gifts through his Holy Spirit. As we fill our stockings and give our gifts this year I pray that we will take the time to remember his gift. “For God so loved the world that he gave…” (John 3:16)

Merry Christmas,
Robin & Joyce Cowin