Christmas stocking history

Are you wondering why we hang knitted stockings for santa to fill on Christmas eve?There is a wonderful legend of the history of Christmas stockings.

The story is that a long (long long) time ago there lived a man and his three beautiful daughters. Their mother had died leaving the poor father to raise his girls with little money. He was too poor to afford a dowry for his girls. The father was very worried about what would happen to his daughters as they were quickly approaching the age to be married.  Saint Nicholas was passing through this families village when he heard the villagers talking about the poor girls. St. Nicholas wanted to help but he heard their father was too proud to accept charity. After dark St. Nicholas threw three bags of gold through an open window and they landed in the girls' stockings. When the girls and their father woke up on Christmas morning to find the gold in their stockings they were of course overjoyed. The girls were able to get married and live happily ever after. 

This led to the custom of children hanging knitted Christmas stockings in hopes that St. Nicholas would fill them on Christmas eve.