HEARTH WARMERS : Stockings Brim With Tradition

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

“A Visit From St. Nicholas” Clement Clarke Moore, 1823

Tonight, in time-honored tradition, children around the world will hang Christmas stockings by the fireplace in the hope that they will awaken to find them filled with presents, candy and other delights.

In earlier times, the stocking was likely to be just that--something worn on the foot--when it wasn’t being put to this nobler use.

Today, the Christmas stockings hung in most households were never intended to be worn . They are likely to have been created out of rich fabrics--velvet, quilts and tapestry--and festooned with ribbons or other trimmings. Some are knitted or feature intricate stitchery; still others are simply red felt trimmed in white.

Often handcrafted by a family member or an artisan, the stocking has become a fixture of Christmas decorating.

“I think everyone loves stockings,” said Jean Smith, a doll maker who teaches stocking-making at Archangel, a Westminster shop that specializes in angel motifs and Christmas decor. Smith’s stockings feature a porcelain head designed to resemble Santa Claus, Father Christmas or an angel.

“The stockings are very popular because they are unique and handcrafted,” Smith said. “The folks who create them plan to hand them down for generations.”

Those who want to let someone else do the creating can find intriguing stockings at import and holiday specialty shops or even from individual stocking makers.

Third World Handarts in Orange imports stockings from 33 developing nations as well as six areas of the United States, said Sue Fenton, director of the shop. The choices range from jute stockings from Bangladesh to miniature, multicolored knit stockings from Peru.

“A lot of people use stockings, particularly the miniature versions, as Christmas tree ornaments,” Fenton said. “We’ve also had people buying suede medicine bags created by Native Americans of the Lakota tribe (in South Dakota) to use as stockings or wrappings for small items such as jewelry.”

Closer to home, Linda Quarry of Placentia has a virtual Christmas stocking factory in her home. Throughout the year, her stockings, shaped like a Victorian lady’s shoe (and a new cowboy boot version), are sold at holiday boutiques throughout Southern California.

“I just love making them,” she said. “I try to make each one unique. That way the work never gets boring, and I can add little embellishments wherever I see fit.”

Quarry estimates that she has produced about 200 Victorian shoe stockings and about 100 cowboy boot stockings this year alone.

Some of her clients don’t want to be confined to Christmas: “I have some people who have me make the stockings in colors other than green and red so they can keep them up year-round.”

*

Even if there’s not a chimney from which to hang a stocking, children (and their parents) come up with clever ways to entice old St. Nick.

Some use stockings to decorate staircases or hang them on the doorknobs to children’s bedrooms.

“I’ve also hung stockings from bookshelves, and they look just great staggered along the edge,” said Pam Stovall, an interior designer from Fountain Valley. “I’ve also used wreath hangers to hang stockings on doors. It adds a very festive touch.”

Others lay a stocking across a child’s bed. (This has the added benefit of allowing exhausted parents a few more precious moments of sleep as children tend to immediately empty the contents of their stocking upon awakening and will likely spend several minutes admiring the largess.)

Sometimes a fireplace doesn’t lend itself to stockings if the mantel is made of marble or mirrored or if it would be somehow damaged by tapping a nail or hook into its surface. In these instances, interior designer Lisa Weber of Placentia recommends a weighted hook that sits on the edge of the fireplace mantel or shelf.

“There are lots of different styles now,” she said. “Everything from country-styled to contemporary. And if you’re not interested in a weighted hook, I’ve sometimes used a heavy object, like a book or candelabra, to hold a stocking securely.”

Sometimes, however, the best bet is to remove the stocking once it’s filled as the additional weight can tax even the strongest hook.

*

The custom of hanging Christmas stockings is found throughout the United States, England, Australia and New Zealand. In Europe, children often hang stockings as well, but generally they do so the night before St. Nicholas Day on Dec. 6.

The tradition most likely began simply enough. Peasants would often hang wet stockings near the fire. When Santa (or other gift givers) began leaving presents in them is unknown, although different stories have circulated.

In France, children place their stockings on the hearth--a tradition from when the French wore “sabots,” wooden peasant shoes. Dutch children sometimes fill their shoes with hay and a carrot for St. Nicholas’ white horse. It is believed that when Sintirklass comes down the chimney, he grabs a handful of hay from each shoe and replaces it with a gift.

In Italy, it is La Befana, a good witch, that children try to attract by leaving their shoes out on Jan. 5, the night before Epiphany. In Puerto Rico, the custom is for children to place grass and flowers in boxes under their beds on the night before Epiphany for the Three Kings so the camels have something to eat. In exchange, the Kings leave gifts for the youngsters.

Of course, there’s always the possibility that children will be passed by if they have been naughty. Or they may awaken to a stocking filled with coal or twigs. Hungarian children, in addition to candy and other gifts, may well receive a small bundle of twigs as a reminder of what they will receive the following year if they behave badly.

*

Whatever the shape or size, the tradition of hanging a Christmas stocking is well-established--and beloved.

“People are often very sentimental about Christmas stockings,” said Randy Bremer, one of the owners of Tall Mouse, a crafts store in Yorba Linda. “At the shop, we sell kits and materials to crafters so they can make their own stockings.

“We get a lot of grandmothers making stockings for grandchildren, and, since they make the stockings themselves, they can add names or a particular design if they choose. These stockings frequently end up becoming a family heirloom. . . . People recognize that making a Christmas stocking takes time and love.”

Bremer’s stocking is made of felt, has his name on it and a snowman decoration made by his great-grandmother for him when he was a child.

“Every Christmas I get it out and hang it up,” he said.