Christmas Stockings



In North America, the traditional Christmas stocking actually dates back to the end of the XIXth century. The first to mention Christmas stockings being hung from a chimney were the illustrator, Thomas Nast, through his pictures and the writer, George Webster, in a story about a visit from Santa Claus.

In Quebec and Acadia, children traditionally put their shoes close to the fireplace so that the Infant Jesus, and later "Père Noël" (Father Christmas), could put gifts there on Christmas Eve. This custom, which probably came to us from European countries where it was a common practice in the XIXth century, does not seem to have survived this period.

In some Quebec families, children hung their stockings at the end of their bed rather than hanging them close to the fireplace or putting out their shoes. This custom ended during the 1930s when Christmas trees started to be set up in houses with gifts placed underneath.

Japanese oranges have a special meaning to the people who live in the Canadian Prairies. A gift from the East, their arrival at the coldest time of the year has brightened many homes and Christmas feasts for 110 years. To many, the festive season begins when Santa Claus welcomes the first major shipment of Japanese mandarin oranges at the Port of Vancouver, accompanied by young Japanese girls dressed in tradition kimonos. On Christmas morning the flavourful fruit find their way into many children's Christmas stockings.

Mistletoe



Mistletoe was often hung over the entrances to homes of the pagans in Scandinavian countries to keep out evil spirits. An ld Scandinavian myth tells of the seemingly invulnerable god, Balder, who was struck down by a dart made fromn mistletoe. The tears of this mother, Frigga, became the white berries of the mistletoe, and it was decreed that the plant must never again be used as a weapon.
Frigga, who was the goddess of love, henceforth gave a kiss to anyone who passed under the mistletoe. It may be that our present custom of kissing under the mistletoe derives from this old legend.
Legend holds that the Druids, who were members of a pagan religious order in ancient Gaul, Briton and Ireland, held the mistletoe in such reverence that if enemies met under it in the forest, a truce was declared for the day. It was their belief that only happiness would enter a home when mistletoe hung overt the door.
When the Yule season approached, the mistletoe was cut down from the sacred oaks by the Prince of the Druids who used a golden sickle. The mistletoe was distributed to the people who believed it possessed powers of the protection against sickness and evil. Later among Christians it came to symbolize the healing powers of Christ.

The Candy Canes of Christmas



Candy cane sweet treats made primarily from boiled sugar seem to have first appeared in Europe in the late 1600’s to early 1700’s. They were made in many different colors (most often white) and shapes (most often straight sticks), evolving to the familiar cane or upside down J shape with the red and white stripes in the early 1900’s.

The cane shape turned out to be a great way to hang the sugar treats on the Christmas tree that was also strongly associated with the Christmas season and the bright colors of red and white were a nice contrast with the green of the Christmas trees. This was during a time when many food items were hung on the Christmas trees from strings of popcorn to cookies and pastries.

The exact story of how and why the candy canes evolved into the red and white striped cane shapes we are so familiar with today is lost to history, but a reasonable explanation is that the cane shape was created to look like the staff of a shepherd (which fits in not only with the story of shepherds attending Jesus’ birth, but also of the symbolism of Jesus as a shepherd of his flock). These treats were then given to small children to encourage them to behave at long church services during the Christmas season.