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Thursday, February 3, 2011

$100 Stocking Stuffers?

Stocking stuffer ideas seem to be getting more and more ridiculous and extravagant each year. This year I have seen Ipods, Cell Phones, and even diamond necklaces and car keys to luxury cars to be presented on commercials as 'stocking stuffers'. It seems a little excessive doesn't it? And that's not even getting to the presents under the tree! During this season of joy, why not take the time to consider why you are giving and try to simplify at least one of the Christmas traditions in your holiday.

To get in the right mindset of giving, here's some homework for you....consider, what is the point of the stocking?

Also let's look at the legends and history of the Christmas Stocking;

"While there are no written records of the origin of the Christmas stocking, there are popular legends that attempt to tell the history of this Christmas tradition...Very long ago, there lived a poor man and his three very beautiful daughters. He had no money to get his daughters married, and he was worried what would happen to them after his death. Saint Nicholas was passing through when he heard the villagers talking about the girls. St. Nicholas wanted to help, but knew that the old man wouldn`t accept charity. He decided to help in secret. He waited until it was night and crept through the chimney. He had three bags of gold coins with him, one for each girl. As he was looking for a place to keep those three bags, he noticed stockings of the three girls that were hung over the mantelpiece for drying. He put one bag in each stocking and off he went. When the girls and their father woke up the next morning, they found the bags of gold coins and were of course, overjoyed. The girls were able to get married and live happily ever after.

This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver."

Some of my favorite reads a a kid were the "Little House on the Prairie" books. The little girls were always delighted to receive hard candy and oranges for Christmas. Watching their story available on youtube of exchanging gifts on Christmas morning truly brings the simple joy back to the Christmas season.

Spread Joy this Christmas!

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