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From the Italians
The Italians tell of a witch named La
Befana who decided not to go with the three
wise men on their journey to Bethlehem to
find Jesus. Later she regretted that decision
and left to go on her own journey to bring
gifts to the baby, but never found him, and
gave the gifts to other children. Children still
set out their shoes or stockings hoping La
Befana will fill them on the night before the
Epiphany (January 6). Children’s stockings
would be placed near the family presepio or
nativity scene. Italians greet each other on
that day by saying, “Buona Befana!”
There was another side to La Befana – she
also was the originating factor to the tradition
of bad children receiving coal or dark candy in
their stocking. If children were naughty or
unkind, they would not receive good candy,
but less-sweet chocolate or a piece of coal.

From the Press
While the tales spread over the years, the A photograph of a young girl from the late 1950s stretching to hang her stocking by the fireplace.
actual use of stockings to be filled by Santa
Claus can be dated to 1823 and the publishing made hand over fist at the time—were so large just about anything could fit.
of the poem A Visit of St. Nicholas attributed to In an article from The New York Times came an “Ode to the Christmas
Clement C. Moore. Stocking-esque” style column espousing the qualities of the “Smith” Stocking,
Prior to the publishing of the poem, which solved the issue of size when it came to putting gifts inside as it was made
families tended to use their own traditional from elastic. While the writer does take a moment to laud the benefits of using a
approach to the use of stockings in the stocking for holding gifts vs. placing them around the Christmas Tree, it was not
Yuletide season. Once the poem was until the early 1900s that both were used together more as decoration for the season
published, stockings became a more than the meaning behind them.
prominent element of Christmas, at
one point out-pacing the Christmas Extremely rare Elsewhere Around the World
Tree as the primary symbol of the season. and highly collectible In Puerto Rico, children celebrate Three
Different regions had different stockings; cotton lithographed Kings’ Day on January 6, putting boxes of cut
most notably the New England stocking was Christmas stocking. grass for the kings’ camels under their bed the
known to be smaller in size used by “stingy” This early night before. The next morning they find a small
folk, while the stockings in the Mid-west home-sewn piece toy in the box as thanks for their kindness.
areas like Chicago—where money was being was handmade by In Hungary, St. Nicholas (called Szent Miklás)
S.H. Howe NY, arrives on his feast day, December 6, and then leaves
circa 1889. before Christmas. Tradition has it the children
would place a boot on their windowsill to be filled
by Miklás. The boots must be clean and shiny or they will be filled
with onions, raw potatoes, and coal.
French children place their
shoes by the fireplace with a treat
in it for Père Noël’s donkey. They
wake to find candy, money, or
small toys in its place.
In China, children hang muslin
stockings and wait for Dun Che
Lao Ren (“Christmas Old Man”) to
fill them.

Stockings Over Time
In the early 1800s, real socks and Vintage 1930’s Christmas
stocking featuring Santa and
children’s stockings were used to his toy sack at the North Pole
hold gifts from Santa Claus, but
over time the introduction of specially-made stockings
began to take the place of the real ones. Many
versions would be made by hand, often by the
children themselves. While some companies started
to create “pre-made” and “pre-filled” stockings,
others made kits for parents and children to create
personalized versions to decorate the mantle.

World War II
This Disney-themed stocking is about Soldiers serving overseas during WWII celebrated
9 1/2 x 15 inches and is in really great
shape considering it is likely Christmas as best they could, and stockings were a part
To ease the question of what to put in the stocking, from the 1960s. of it. Many soldiers would kneel down right there on
this one comes complete and is an ad continued on page 26
from the early 1900s.
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