2017 Home for the Holidays

2017 Home for the Holidays LINCOLN DAILY NEWS November 22, 2017 Page 39 with three daughters, and no money for their dowries. St. Nicholas heard of the man’s plight, and knew he was too proud to accept charity. St. Nicholas decided to travel to the house, and throw three bags of gold (or gold balls in some recounts) down the chimney. Of course, they landed in the girls’ stockings hanging by the fire to dry. The girls could now get married, and the legend of St. Nicholas as a gift-giver grew. Of course Christmas gift giving is rooted in the gifts of the Wise Men to the Christ Child. While Christmas stockings started with every day socks hung, it has evolved into decorated items to receive the small gifts of Christmas Eve from Santa Claus, or the gift-giver from whatever ancestry you come from. My grandmother took it upon herself to make each new family member a felt stocking decorated with sequins. I feel blessed she was alive to make stockings for my children, but like many traditions, this one may have been laid to rest with her passing. In many areas, the stocking gifts are the only ones received. However, in the U.S. and Canada, there are also bountiful gifts on Christmas Day and throughout the holiday season. These gifts are really a more recent phenomenon. The traditional gift of old, and received by father and mother-in-law, was one or more oranges. The oranges are suggested to be the “gold” of the folktale. My mother-in-law also remembers getting fabric for sewing projects and maybe a book to read. What would the holidays be without food? As with most traditions, it all depends on your ancestry as to what traditions are practiced. CONTINUED ===