In Germanic folklore, the god Odin would hold a hunting party each year at Yule. The stories behind Christmas traditions are often blurry mixtures of fact and falsehood. If you don’t have the pleasure of a fireplace in your living room, you can certainly get creative with a bookshelf or a picture ledge. Around the 12th century, some nuns began leaving children gifts on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day. The number one function of the cap is to prevent water from going down your chimney. carbon dioxide gases from industrial chimneys can be fed to algae which can in turn … To make sure they didn’t refuse his generosity, he anonymously snuck them gold at night. Mom says you work magic and can use just any old key If we just hang it outside in a place you're sure to see So I'm placing this old key right beside our door Say my prayers and jump in bed and I won't worry anymore ), real reason we celebrate Christmas on December 25, history behind 10 other famous Christmas traditions, Meet Amanda Gorman: The Inaugural Poet Who Just Made History, 20 Wacky Ways to Decorate Your Christmas Tree, Do Not Sell My Personal Information – CA Residents. Now, find out about the history behind 10 other famous Christmas traditions. Or do a cutaway version where he can be seen. The gift-giving origins reflect generosity and kindness … as long as you’re on St. Nick’s nice list, of course. "All the gold and jewels have probably settled to the bottom - we'll get them when we take all the bricks down." THE SECRET TO HANGING CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS. “Medieval artists treated the story in different ways but most opt for Nicholas throwing [the money] through an open window.”, Chimneys wouldn’t be invented for nearly 800 years after Saint Nicholas’s death. Though stockings were traditionally "hung by the chimney with care," homes without fireplaces, wood stoves, or mantels offer many other spots for a creative display. Nicholas Culpeper. Wait till you see how easy it is to beautifully hang Christmas stockings on the mantel! We peered inside, expecting the hanging chimney to give up its secrets - it was full of soot! Use a big cardboard chimney for St. Nick to hide behind. You can find her on Instagram @marissasimonian. Her work has also appeared in Business Insider, Parents magazine, CreakyJoints, and the Baltimore Sun. Or that the gifts in The Twelve Days of Christmas are really coded religious symbols. The desperate family feared their only choice would be for the daughters to sell their bodies to make money. On Christmas morning we unwrap our to the world! We’ll never know for sure what (or if) St. Nicholas really did for that family or whether the legend was inspired by pagan gods, but stockings have a strong foothold in Christmas tradition. A sock hanging by the chimney is called a … He has his own celebration on December 6, which is still observed in the Netherlands and elsewhere. Chimney definition, a structure, usually vertical, containing a passage or flue by which the smoke, gases, etc., of a fire or furnace are carried off and by means of which a draft is created. Circular Christmas decoration for the front door - Wreath 19. The number one function of the cap is to prevent water from going down your chimney. Neither of those things is true, but that doesn’t stop people from copying and pasting them from one blog or social media post to the next. Such Roots as are soft, your best way is to dry in the Sun, or else hang them up in the Chimney corner upon a string; as for such as are hard you may dry them any where. It also means it’s easier to chop and change your above-fireplace display. if you mean reuse the energy that comes out of a chimney, then yes. Whether you're looking for a spot to put up your Christmas wreath for a week or need something more permanent, hanging decor on the exterior or interior of your home can be tricky sometimes. Children would leave sugar, carrots, and hay in their shoes to feed the mythical horse, and Odin would leave them gifts in return. Hanging stockings by the chimney with care is one of the most popular Christmas traditions, but many families display theirs without wondering why. As the story goes, a single father was raising three daughters but realized he didn’t have enough money to pay their dowries—and without dowries, they couldn’t get married. Chimney Cap – The chimney cap is, in effect, a metal roof above your chimney. There are just a couple of problems with this story. Where you're hanging it makes all the difference. No one can be sure when and why the practice started, but some legends give us a clue. We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer), If you can’t afford gold, try these $20 stocking stuffers. Not to worry! It goes a little something like this. Fortunately, we have what we think is the most logical explanation, so follow the link to find out how Santa climbs down the chimney . All because of that episode with the widower’s daughters. Children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw, or sugar, near the chimney for Odin’s flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. I’ve always wanted to hang stockings on the mantel but couldn’t quite figure out how to keep them up without thumbtacks, tape or gaudy hangers! Network ; United States / en ($) ... By closing this message, scrolling this page or clicking on any of its elements you are giving your consent to the use of cookies for the purpose described above. Someone—either the father or the daughters, depending on the version of the tale—caught the bishop in the act and thanked him for his help. Another common story attempts to explain the origin of hanging a stocking by the chimney. I wrote a great deal of a novel, 'Winter's Tale,' on the roof of a Brooklyn Heights tenement on Henry Street. Search all products, brands and retailers of Hanging Fireplaces: discover prices, catalogues and new features. Maybe you’ve heard, for instance, that the candy cane is actually a candy “J” (you know…for Jesus), and that the red stripes represent blood. Down. Between 1762 and 1785 he queried his “Junto” about the cause and cure of smoky chimneys and in 1768 Lord Kames of Edinburgh wrote to Franklin calling him “a universal smoke doctor” and asked him how to cure the smoky chimney in his new house. Another name for Christmastime - Yuletide. I Almost Got Fired for Choosing React in Our Enterprise App, 15 Signs You’ll Be Financially Free in the Next 5 Years, What 4 Years of Dining With Trump Supporters Taught Me About Polarization, 3 Toxic Relationship Habits People Think Are Acceptable, 6 Data Science Certificates To Level Up Your Career, Trump’s Outgoing Gift to the Public? We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide site experiences for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. Now my Nanna(Mommy/Daddy etc) has solved the problem and I'm not worried anymore, for hanging on this ribbon is … Hanging Fireplaces. Saint Nicholas, who was the son of wealthy parents, heard of an old widower who couldn’t provide a dowry for his three daughters. The festive accessories are hung in front of the fireplace—"by the chimney with care," if you will—waiting to be stuffed with small gifts on Christmas Eve. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads; And mamma in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap, When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, When Saint Nicholas eventually evolved into Santa Claus, the chimney would be his preferred method of home entry. Scott looked up towards the chimney - adding: "We saw this man, flailing around in a bit of a panic on the very edge of the chimney." But did you know the classic Christmas custom actually dates back to the 4th century? Marissa Laliberte-Simonian is a London-based associate editor with the global promotions team at WebMD’s Medscape.com and was previously a staff writer for Reader's Digest. So Saint Nicholas saves the day by visiting the widower’s house at night and secretly dropping gold coins down the chimney, which landed in the stockings hung by the chimney to dry. "Don't worry", Derek said. “The chimney and stocking story is a later addition,” said Gerry Bowler when I asked him about it recently. Using the mantelpiece as a shelf is a more relaxed way of featuring your artworks than hanging them. There really is a legend of Saint Nicholas helping the widower and his daughters, but it goes a little differently. Santa doesn't really care where the stockings are hung (he has an uncanny ability to find them wherever they are). (If you can’t afford gold, try these $20 stocking stuffers.). As a poor man, the father wouldn’t be able to support his daughters for long. 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