Did You Ever Wonder Why We Put Oranges In Christmas Stockings?
Every year from when I was little until even now, I’ve always gotten a stocking for Christmas from my parents. It had candy, of course, and some little toy (or usually a gift card now), and an orange. When I was younger the orange would always roll away (or be nudged with a petulant toe) only to be found under the couch or in a corner after all the wrapping paper was picked up.
This year, I decided to finally ask my mom why we put oranges in Christmas stockings and her answer was so sweet.
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Did You Ever Wonder Why We Put Oranges In Christmas Stockings?
“Tradition,” she said.
Not a great answer, as far as answers go, but sweet.
Then she explained, when she was growing up her family didn’t have much money. Things like toys, candies, and especially fresh fruit were rare. Her parents were children of the great depression, and fresh fruit would have been even more rare for them.
So receiving an orange in the stocking was actually an enormous gift. It was a way of making sure every child had at least one sweet present to open on Christmas morning, no matter what.
How amazing is my mom?
I looked up the real answer when I got home, and it’s kind of cool, too.
Apparently back before St. Nicholas was a Saint, he was a bishop. Story goes he rode through a town where a shopkeeper had three beautiful daughters and couldn’t afford a dowry. Which meant the girls would be destitute once the father passed away.
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Bishop Nicholas, realizing the father was a proud man, tossed three sacks of gold through an open window (or down a chimney, depending on where you read it) while the family was sleeping and one of the bags landed in the toe of a stocking that had been hung by the fire to dry.
When the family awakened in the morning, they found the gold, including the one in the sock which had turned into a ball overnight.
So giving the orange is a way to celebrate generosity and caring for others without thinking about a gift in return. It’s meant to symbolize that gold ball and as a reminder to care for those in need.
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Both beautiful stories, but my mom’s is definitely the one that meant the most to me.
Do you give out oranges in stockings? Did you ever know why, or is it a family tradition in your home, too?
Merry Christmas!
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Have you ever wondered why we hide a pickle in the Christmas tree? Click here to find out.
We always had oranges at the bottom of our stocking – I continued it with my children and now with my grandchildren.
I have always had and given oranges to my children. Great to know the tradition behind it. Our family tradition expanded into exotic fruit that is not available all year around. My girls were and even as adults look forward to this checking this first things. I always included clementines (not oranges) that were a staple in our house at christmas time. They are not living at home and still ask are your going to put fruit in our stockings. There favorite is the lichee’s.
The sweetest, most hard-working man I’ve ever known and loved, my grandfather, or as he preferred, pappy, always gave oranges and candy canes to us and other kids when he played Santa. I remember asking when I was young, why? It seemed such a strange combination! His answer was similar to your mothers. When he grew up in the orphanage in the 30’s and as a teen on the farm where he lived with a foster family, then as a seamen in the Merchant Marines, he was always given an orange and a candy cane. They were very special treats!
I received a stocking every year from my “Santa” and in the toe was always a shiny new penny and an orange. I never wondered why figured it was just tradition. I’m happy to know the reason why it was a yearly tradition. Now I’ll have to research the meaning of the penny in the toe. Merry Christmas.
an orange for health and a penny for wealth.
We received a Tangerine in ours. My parents grew up during the Depression and Tangerines were more expensive than Oranges and rarer…according to my Mom. Even now I can only eat Tangerines at Christmas time
We always got an orange, apple and a tangerine in our bags. Plus mixed nuts, peanuts and hard candy. The only chocolate we got ( that I can remember) was chocolate drops.
We always put one of our Dads boot socks out but always got our stuff in a bag. I never knew why.
My Aunt ( Mom’s youngest Sister) told me it was because they always got theirs in a bag. I never ever knew that until my kids were grown. But they get bags now.
Yes, we got oranges and apples and several mixed nuts with wrapped candies. We used the biggest knee high socks we could find in our drawer. When we got them oranges were a seasonal fruit. No year round oranges back then. They were gold to us, because they rare…. Yes Tradition had something to do with it and cost, though rare were inexpensive and filled a good part of that knee high sock!!!! LOL!!!
We lived in Belgium for three years and they believe Sinter Klaas comes from Spain, all in white in his Bishop’s robes and white mitre. He arrived in a white carriage drawn by a white horse. He was accompanied by his chimney sweep a younger Moorish boy named Schwartz Piet. Children would leave their shoes at night and wake up to candy and oranges (from Spain) if they had been good and coal if they had been naughty!
My uncle always got a huge fruit and nut basket for Christmas from the factory he worked for, so it did double duty and we all got some kind of fruit and walnuts in our stockings. A pear, apple or orange and the nuts of course. We had a BIG family, 8 kids, so you can imagine how Mom had to budget back then and my father had a minimum wage paying job. Times may have been tough, but oh the memories. I’d rather live life back then all over again that what we live through today.
Yes I grew up getting an orange and a Apple in my stocking I also received nuts and candy no toys in fact my mom would take my doll every year and clean her up fix her hair an make new clothes for her. But my stocking was my favorite part of Christmas because I didn’t have to share any of it with my sister.at the time we lived in the desert and fresh fruit was very expensive and we didn’t get a lot of it so to have a hole orange and Apple was a great gift.
LOL! My coworkers and I were just talking about this yesterday. My sisters and I always got a big fancy orange and a big shiny red apple in our Christmas stockings each year. Later in life my Mom told me it was because they were “traditional” and were also the perfect round things to fill out the bottom of the big red drugstore stockings we hung each year.
Also on the subject is the dubious “gift” of coal or a potato. They are not punishment, because both coal and potatoes would be SHARED by the family, that the recipient was being told to be selfless. It was the switch/stick that you got spanked with that was the “naughty kid” present. Now we see them all as the punishment, but the origin wasn’t realy a punishment, except the switch. Merry Merry…
When we were little a family of ten children, we received an orange in our stocking, and were happy to get one, I always thought mom put it in as a filler because back then there wasn,t a lot of candy or gifts, but we loved to get our stocking, the best part of Christmas.
My Mother shared a similar story. growing up in Northern New England ninety years ago; an orange was an exotic fruit. Often if one appeared at all it was bought for a family ,member who was ailing. To receive one at christmas was a very special treat.
I have my great grandmothers silver plate set from around the turn of the century. Because of the rarity of oranges, (shipping, distance ) it has orange spoons instead of grapefruit spoons. Oranges were more prevalent and easier to transport than grapefruits.
With my family it’s totally tradition, however, our goes further back than most. My great grandparents, one side British the other from France(then moved to French Canada area), they grew up in the Victorian era. They also did the orange well before the depression and both their parents too, however, we add an apple for the heel. Always a red one. From my memory serves me, my grandma explained the fruit was not only as the description you gave but also a special after dinner treat. I will continue the tradition as well to my children
We always got things we needed in the stocking like toothbrushes, socks, hair ties etc and there would always be a orange in the bottom. I love hearing the different stories but the one I was told was tradition as well but it was a symbol of good luck
Hi, I’m 61 this year and I , too , got an orange in my stocking and then put one in my kids stockings, and now they put oranges in my grandbabies stockings. My parents told the story of how their parents grew up in the depression too! Somehow, oranges must have represented that St Nick story way, way, back. Either way it’s a great tradition, representing gratefulness and generosity. We all can use a reminder of those characters. Have a Merry , Blessed , Christmas with your family.
I’ve been complaining for the passed seventy years about an orange and an apple in my stocking and nothing else for Christmas day. Now I realize my parents were poor.
We get a tangerine in our stockings…a tradition my mom passed on from her mother and now we all do it with our families…also a few nuts in their shells.
Ours exactly. Tangerines and a few shelled nuts. Still makes me smile.
Same from my parents. The orange in their stocking was precious!! They did the same for us as children. I did the same for my kids too! Now we are all older. We still do stockings for every single one young and old. I make sure everyone gets an orange!! Such a great tradition!!
My mom tells almost the exact same story as yours. The cost of an orange back then, was enormous! At the time, fresh fruit had to be imported at great expense and it was REALLY a big deal so an orange was a very special thing. But I believe that there is some magic in the stocking too. Have you ever smelled a Christmas orange? They smell so much better than the kind that come from the store…
My mom told me the same story as your mom. She said she could smell the oranges in the house a few days before Christmas and would get excited about Christmas morning! So sweet to think about! Makes me wish I had kept Christmas simpler with my kids. My mom also told me that when she got older, she worked at a dime store to make a little Christmas money and a man came in asking how much it would cost to get a doll for his little girl and he sat a few coins on the counter. My mom told him that was just enough and used her paycheck to pay for the doll.
Your mom is wonderful. <3
Wow
I love your mom’s explanation and I think it is right on the mark. My parents were children of the Great Depression too and they always put an orange in our stockings. My husband and I have carried on that tradition with our girls too. A couple of years ago, I asked our girls what tradition it just wouldn’t feel like Christmas without and one of them said “an orange in the toe of my stocking”.
Once I was grown and married I always would find the biggest fanciest naval orange and put it in my Mom’s stocking. The reason? She would tell the story of how when they were kids during the depression (she was born in 1931) the only time they got an orange was when they were sick and they were given an orange slice to suck on after being given castor oil. Mom made a point of buying and feeding us oranges as we grew up, but my giving this special orange to her every year was something that spoke of my understanding of the good life she and my Dad gave us. It was symbolic, and I miss shopping for that special orange at Christmas. ??
That is a lovely story that touched my heart. Thank you for sharing. I’m sure your Mom is up there eating a lovely orange and thinking of you also. Happy Holidays to you.