This is the reason behind long-followed Christmas tradition of hanging stockings

Christmas is around the corner and people are getting ready to celebrate the amazing festival by decorating their homes with Christmas trees and lights. The other popular decorative item or Christmas tradition is hanging stockings by the chimney. The story behind the long followed tradition goes back to the third and fourth centuries of Turkey. 

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Origin of stocking tradition during Christmas 

As the legends say that there was a family in Turkey consisting of a single father and his three daughters. Back in the day, families had to pay dowries in order to get their daughters married. The single father realised that he didn't have enough money for dowries and feared that they would have to sell their bodies to make money as a poor man he wouldn't be able to support his family for long. 

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St. Nicholas, saint heard the story and decided to help the family. But St Nicholas knew that the family was too proud to accept handouts. So he decided to sneak in gold bars to help the family. Nicholas anonymously snuck them gold at night through the chimney which landed in the stockings that were kept for drying in front of the fire. Someone either the daughters or the father caught St. Nicholas in the act and thanked him for his generosity.

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The gifts by St. Nicholas were enough for the father to get his daughters married and live happily ever after. This is how the tradition of leaving gifts in stockings started. Many believe that the stocking tradition might have started even before Christianity came into being. We will never know whether the story of St. Nicholas is true or it is just another tale like many others. But the tradition has long been followed on Christmas Day by many people around the world and gift-giving reflects generosity and kindness. 

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